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2024 Texas Elections

Before he was Donald Trump's running mate, J.D. Vance was U.S. Sen. John Cornyn’s staffer

Cornyn said Vance was “smart” and “well spoken,” praising former President Donald Trump for selecting him as a running mate.

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U.S. Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX) is seen during a press conference with U.S. Sen. J.D. Vance, (R-Ohio) calling on U.S. President Joe Biden to negotiate with Republicans in order to make a deal on raising the debt ceiling on Capitol Hill in Washington D.C. on May 3, 2023.
Credit: REUTERS/Craig Hudson

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MADISON, Wisconsin — Before he was a best-selling author, a U.S. senator or a Republican nominee for vice president, J.D. Vance was a legal clerk for U.S. Sen. John Cornyn.

“So I guess I'll claim a little bit of J.D. Vance fame,” Cornyn said Tuesday during a brief interview on the sidelines of the Republican National Convention. Former President Donald Trump revealed Vance as his running mate the day prior.

Vance, then going by the name James Hamel, clerked for Cornyn on the Senate Judiciary Committee in the summer of 2011 as a student at Yale Law School. Clerks assist Cornyn in his duties on the committee, including reviewing judicial nominations and oversight of the judiciary. Before being elected to the Senate, Cornyn served as Texas attorney general and as a justice on the Texas Supreme Court.

Cornyn said in an interview with Fox Business on Monday night that Vance was “a smart guy, incredibly well spoken.”

Cornyn praised Trump’s pick of Vance as a running mate, saying he “represents the next generation of Republican leaders.

“I'm excited that the president would think not only about his own election, but you know what the next generation looks like,” Cornyn said in the Tribune interview.

Vance entered the Senate in 2023 after making a name for himself with his autobiography, “Hillbilly Elegy.” The book, which described his upbringing in rural Appalachia, became a national best seller. He also served in the Marines before college. After clerking with Cornyn, Vance clerked for U.S. District Judge David Bunning, an appointee of President George W. Bush. He later had a career in venture capital with Mithril Capital, a firm founded by Trump backer Peter Thiel.

Though today an ardent Trump supporter, Vance has criticized the former president in the past. He was self-identified as a “never Trump guy,” calling the former president “reprehensible,” a “cynical asshole” and “cultural heroin.”

Vance has since closely aligned himself with Trump in the Senate. Cornyn said now that the party’s nominee is selected, Republicans should move on from internal divisions.

“If Republicans are divided, it does nothing but help our adversaries. So I think we need to put aside any of those differences,” Cornyn said when asked about Vance’s past statements criticizing Trump. “Now the primaries are over and we need to be unified behind our ticket.”

Cornyn has a personal rule of not getting involved in primaries, though he said early in the cycle that he felt “Trump’s time has passed him by.” He eventually endorsed Trump after his primary win in New Hampshire.

“I know we've been through a bumpy primary season but actually primaries, I think, are very important,” Cornyn told Texas delegates at the RNC. “What doesn't kill you makes you stronger.”

Picking Vance and his bare-knuckles support of Trump is a shift in strategy from Trump’s 2016 ticket. That year, he selected former Indiana Gov. Mike Pence to borrow establishment credibility as he was breaking norms with his campaign. Pence and Trump had a falling out after Trump supporters chanting “Hang Mike Pence” attacked the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.

The RNC has changed its tone considerably since 2016. Trump enjoys far more full throated support across the party. Delegates responded frostily to vestiges of the pre-Trump Republicanism that focused on strong defense spending. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, who had an epic rupture with Trump after the insurrectionJan. 6, 2021, was so loudly booed as he presented Kentucky’s votes for Trump on Monday night that he was unintelligible.

Democrats decried Vance as an ideological extension of Trump, whom they often call an existential threat to democracy.

“This is someone who supports banning abortion nationwide while criticizing exceptions for rape and incest survivors; railed against the Affordable Care Act , including its protections for millions with preexisting conditions; and has admitted he wouldn’t have certified the free and fair election in 2020,” President Joe Biden’s campaign said in a statement after Vance’s selection went public.

Voting FAQ: 2024 Elections

  • When is the next election? What dates do I need to know?

    Election Day for the general election is November 5, and early voting will run from Oct. 21 to Nov. 1. The deadline to register to vote and/or change your voter registration address is Oct. 7. Applications to vote by mail must be received by your county of residence – not postmarked – by Oct. 25.

  • What’s on the ballot for the general election?

    In addition to the president, eligible Texans have the opportunity to cast their ballots for many Texas officials running for office at the federal, state and local levels.
    This includes representatives in the U.S. and Texas houses and the following elected offices: -1 U.S Senator (Ted Cruz) - 1 of 3 Railroad Commissioners - 15 State Senators - 7 State Board of Education members - 3 members of the Texas Supreme Court - 3 members of the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals - 5 Chief Justices and various justices for Texas Courts of Appeals
    - Lower-level judges and local county offices will also appear on the ballot: - Various district judges, including on criminal and family courts - County Courts at Law - Justices of the Peace - District Attorneys - County Attorneys - Sheriffs - Constables - Tax Assessor-Collectors

  • How do I make sure I’m registered to vote?

    You can check to see if you’re registered and verify your information through the Texas Secretary of State’s website. You’ll need one of the following three combinations to log in: Your Texas driver’s license number and date of birth. Your first and last names, date of birth and county you reside in. Your date of birth and Voter Unique Identifier, which appears on your voter registration certificate.

  • How do I register to vote if I haven’t?

    You can request a postage-paid application through the mail or find one at county voter registrars’ offices and some post offices, government offices, or high schools. You can also print out the online application and mail it to the voter registrar in your county.
    Applications must be postmarked by the Oct. 7 deadline. Download your application here.
    Additionally, you can register to vote through the Texas Department of Public Safety while renewing your driver’s license. You may be able to register to vote online if you’re also allowed to renew your license online. This is the only form of online registration in the state.
    After you register to vote, you will receive a voter registration certificate within 30 days. It’ll contain your voter information, including the Voter Unique Identifier number needed to update your voter registration online. If the certificate has incorrect information, you’ll need to note corrections and send it to your local voter registrar as soon as possible.
    The voter registration certificate can also be used as a secondary form of ID when you vote if you don’t have one of the seven state-approved photo IDs

  • What can I do if I have questions about voting?

    You can contact your county elections official or call the Texas Secretary of State's helpline at 1-800-252-VOTE (8683). A coalition of voting rights groups is also helping voters navigate election concerns through the 866-OUR-VOTE (687-8683) voter-protection helpline. The coalition has hotlines available in other languages. Disability Rights Texas also assists voters with disabilities.

  • Read more
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