What happens to JD Vance’s campaign in Ohio is important for all of America

If Democrats can flip this seat, it sends an encouraging message about the midterms coming up in November. Then again, it might happen because Vance is a terrible candidate, writes Holly Baxter

Vance said there was something ‘comparable’ between abortion and slavery and railed against the poor communities he hopes to represent (Getty)

JD Vance is one of the most talked-about people in politics, despite the fact that he isn’t even technically a politician.

No, Vance is a writer whose book about growing up in rural Appalachian poverty, Hillbilly Elegy, was a runaway success that was later made into a film. The book was a bestseller in 2016 and 2017, and was described by critics across the political spectrum as fascinating and insightful. Although Vance did generalise heavily from his own experience – the subtitle of the book was “A memoir of a family and culture in crisis” – he did make some interesting points about learned helplessness, discrimination and sociology.

The fact that he held his own family members and community to account for their own poverty rather than talking more widely about structural issues turned some progressive-minded people off, and Vance was certainly more celebrated among conservative critics. Nevertheless, his writing was praised.