Ohio Senator JD Vance returns for his second fundraising visit to the Bay Area on Monday for an event in Palo Alto, the birthplace of Silicon Valley.
This time, the Hillbilly Elegy author returns as the running mate of Republican presidential candidate and former President Donald Trump, tapping into his powerful network of tech billionaires and Bay Area conservatives to bolster the war chest of their presidential campaign.
The location and host haven’t been disclosed. But based on the invitation, tickets comes at a steep price.
For $50,000 per couple, attendees can join the host committee, participate in the roundtable, and enjoy photos and dinner with Vance.
A $25,000 donation per person includes participation in the roundtable, a photo, and dinner with the vice presidential candidate. For $15,000, attendees can get a photo and dinner, while $3,300 allows participation in the dinner only.
Last time Vance was here in June, he helped raise $12 million for the Trump campaign in San Francisco at the Pacific Heights home of billionaire entrepreneur David Sacks.
“He has great connections to the Bay Area, he understands the tech world, and he has an amazing life story,” said Shane Patrick Connolly, chairman of the Santa Clara Republican Party.
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Connolly was at the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee, Wis., earlier this month when the 39-year-old senator was picked by Trump to be his running mate.
“He’s a brilliant guy… it’s important to have someone who understands technology, how it’s financed, and how they grow,” Connolly, Silicon Valley’s top GOP leader, told this news organization.
The Palo Alto fundraiser was organized by the Santa Cruz Republican Party and will likely attract some of the Valley’s wealthiest GOP supporters. Vance has worked closely with venture capitalist and PayPal co-founder Peter Thiel and counts billionaire investor Marc Andreesen, Tesla and X CEO Elon Musk, and former Google chief executive Eric Smith as among his tech industry connections.
“If you have a vice president who is versed in these things and has connections to people who are experts, I think that could only benefit the country as policy is being made,” Connolly said. “It also benefits the Silicon Valley because then the voices of the startup ecosystem can be heard.”
And California Republicans appear to be excited over Vance’s scheduled stop on Monday.
California Republican Vice Chairwoman Harmeet Dhillon posted on X (formerly Twitter) to reach out to her for those who wanted to attend the fundraiser, saying “contact me and I’ll hook you up!”
That post received dozens of replies, hundreds of reposts, and thousands of views.
Bay Area: if you want to attend the Palo Alto fundraising dinner with JD Vance Monday, contact me and I’ll hook you up!
— Harmeet K. Dhillon (@pnjaban) July 25, 2024
Dhillon did not respond to requests for an interview.
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In his bestselling 2016 memoir, Hillbilly Elegy, Vance wrote about his upbringing in the small city of Middletown, Ohio, and his Kentucky roots.
His story, from growing up in Appalachia to becoming a lawyer and later transitioning to a career in tech startups, makes him an interesting choice for vice president, said Hoover Institution policy fellow Bill Whalen.
“Remember, he was anti-Trump at one time, and now he’s become decidedly MAGA,” Whalen said. “But the press seems to overlook the fact that he spent five years working in the tech sector. So he is a bit of an unusual Republican national candidate that he could come out here and talk the language and walk the walk of Silicon Valley.”
Vance is relatively inexperienced in politics, having served less than two years as an Ohio senator. And that’s what makes him an attractive choice for vice president, said Jan Soule, president and co-founder of the Silicon Valley Association of Conservative Republicans.
“You want somebody who’s not a career politician because we have too many career politicians,” Soule said. “And they have no idea how real people live or how businesses survive.”
Vance’s Palo Alto fundraiser comes a little over a week after President Joe Biden made a bombshell announcement that he would drop out of the race and endorse Vice President Kamala Harris, a Bay Area native, for the Democratic nomination.
Soule said she’s not too worried about Harris possibly beating Trump.
“Local conservatives are very familiar with Kamala and I don’t think anybody is afraid of Kamala Harris,” she said.
Connolly, however, said while he agrees that the party is not afraid, they should not remain complacent in the last months of the campaign.
“We’re going to run and campaign to win as if we’re behind,” Connolly said. “The Trump campaign is much more experienced this time. We won’t rest on our laurels or feel overconfident.”