Business resumes of J.D. Vance and other Trump-backed candidates

J.D. Vance has become the latest candidate to gain Donald Trump’s coveted endorsement in a Republican primary this year.

Vance, who has been trailing in the crowded Ohio Senate race, joins well over 130 candidates Trump is betting on as a test of his continued influence in GOP politics. The author had previously been critical of the former president, but Trump concluded Vance “gets it now” in his endorsement announcement.

The former venture capitalist is now possibly the candidate with the most prominent business background whom Trump is asking voters to send to Washington for the first time.

He's far from the only one.

Trump himself remains obsessed with maintaining control of the Republican Party and forcing any candidate to express fealty to him and to his false claims about the 2020 election.

Their business backgrounds run the gamut run from figure like Vance, who had a significant and apparently lucrative business careers, to others who have found their business record to be a stumbling block as they try to appeal to Republican primary voters.

Here's a few highlights among the resumes of the non-incumbents Trump has endorsed for U.S. Senate and House seats.

Prominent business backgrounds

Vance is a protege of the billionaire entrepreneur Peter Thiel and he previously worked as a principal at Mithril Capital, Thiel’s firm. The best-selling author of ‘Hillbilly Elegy’ also raised a reported $93 million to start his own venture capital firm called Narya Capital with a mission of spreading money across the Midwest. He got it off the ground with backing of heavy hitters like Thiel, Marc Andreessen, and Eric Schmidt.

Vance discusses the business part of his biography on his campaign website saying his work “focused on growing companies that create well-paying jobs.” In his endorsement, Trump didn’t refer to Vance’s business credentials directly but noted he “understands how to use Taxes and Tariffs to hold China accountable [and] will fight to break up Big Tech.”

Other candidates who have earned Trump’s endorsement additionally worked in the worlds of big business and high finance.

Morgan Ortagus - the well-known Trump ally and Fox News regular - earned Trump's imprimatur in her effort to flip a House seat in Tennessee. She is widely known for her time working as the State Department spokesperson, but she also worked at Standard Chartered Bank and at Ernst & Young for stretches focus on geopolitical issues.

She is also currently a partner at Rubicon Founders, a healthcare investment firm, while running for Congress. On her website, Ortagus also notes she once worked at Applebees.

Another endorsee has big tech ties: John Gibbs is running in Michigan after a career in Silicon Valley. He touts he worked on cybersecurity issues at Symantec - now known as NortonLifeLock (NLOK) - and at Apple (AAPL) where he worked on the first version of the iPhone.

Gibbs is working to take down GOP Rep. Peter Meijer, whose family founded the popular grocery chain in the Midwest. Meijer also voted to impeach Trump after Jan. 6th, a fact which is more top of mind to Trump. Trump took the opportunity of a recent Michigan rally to support Gibbs and mock Meijer’s name.

Business complications

Other prominent Trump favorites have seen their business ties as a mixed blessing as they try to navigate Republican primary politics.

In Pennsylvania’s Senate race, Trump has taken a gamble on Mehmet Oz who is currently locked in a contentious primary against former Bridgewater Associates CEO David McCormick.

McCormick has deep business bonafides and is a close associate of legendary investor and Bridgewater Associates founder Ray Dalio.

The business ties of both Oz and McCormick - particularly links to China - have become an issue in the race as Oz looks to paint his opponent as too sympathetic to China. Yet, Oz himself has had to contend with his own China links.

As part of his activities around his long-running TV show, Oz himself reportedly promoted projects in China and pitched his TV show to Chinese viewers.

Over in Georgia, Trump-favorite Herschel Walker is running for Senate and is as he puts it the “CEO of multiple businesses.”

Some of his businesses - like a food company called Renaissance Man Foods - are undoubtedly real but Walker has long been dogged by a charges of exaggerated claims of financial success including in one case apparently claiming to own a business that doesn’t appear to exist.

Small business owners

Of course, there are a host of candidates who have run small businesses and make the experience a centerpiece of their pitch to voters.

Rep. Ted Budd - who currently represents North Carolina in the U.S. House and is angling for a promotion to the Senate - touts he's the "Owner of ProShots gun store and range" in on his website and in his Twitter bio. John James, running in Michigan, helps run his family’s logistics company.

As Trump noted in his endorsement of James, “John isn’t just tough, but he is also very smart—he received his Master’s Degree in Supply Chain Management,” adding that “what’s more important during a supply chain crisis than a supply chain expert?”

In Wisconsin, Derrick Van Orden touts his time as a Navy SEAL and “consulting with Fortune 500 companies” in the private sector but take time to note his role in the re-opening of the “Butternut Cafe” in Wisconsin.

It’s “a gathering place for friends and family” his website says.

Ben Werschkul is a writer and producer for Yahoo Finance in Washington, DC.

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