Donald Trump has chosen J.D. Vance as his running mate, a decision that has sparked hope among Silicon Valley conservatives, who see an opportunity for a "tech brother" to get close to the White House.
"We have a former tech venture capitalist in the White House. The greatest country in the world, baby," wrote Delian Asparouhov, a partner at billionaire investor Peter Thiel's venture capital firm Founders Fund, on social media platform X.
Vance, author of the bestseller "Hillbilly Elegy," graduated from Yale Law School and later became a venture capitalist in San Francisco, quickly rising in American politics.
At 39, Vance has served just two years representing Ohio in the U.S. Senate.
On Monday, the Republican National Convention officially nominated Trump and Vance as their ticket for the November 5 election, where they will face off against Democratic President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris.
Some right-wing investors have started to resurface Vance's old tweets, hoping for more friendly regulations regarding artificial intelligence and cryptocurrency.
"He directly connects with some important influencers when assessing or thinking about tech policies," said Matt Murphy, a partner at venture capital firm Menlo Ventures, highlighting the traditional gap between Washington and Silicon Valley.
During the campaign, Vance leveraged his background to serve as a bridge between Trump's aides and wealthy donors from Silicon Valley, many of whom contributed to Trump's campaign in this election.
