Peter Thiel donated $10 million to an Ohio Super PAC calling for Hillbilly Elegy author and venture capitalist JD Vance to run for Senate.
Thiel, the co-founder of PayPal and an early Facebook investor, is one of only a few Republicans in Silicon Valley. He also invested heavily in Vance’s venture capital firm Narya Capital, according to Business Insider.
A long-anticipated shoe drops in #OHSen: Peter Thiel is backing a J.D. Vance super PAC to the tune of $10 million. (via @jbalmert) https://t.co/oYnflIxNV9
— Henry J. Gomez (@HenryJGomez) March 15, 2021
Thiel donated $10 million to Protect Ohio Values, a Super PAC formed “to demonstrate a groundswell of support in the Buckeye State” for Vance’s candidacy, the Cincinnati Enquirer reported. Vance declined to run for Senate in 2018 against incumbent Democrat Sherrod Brown.
Narya Capital, the venture capital firm Vance founded in 2020, is focused on biotechnology companies located outside of California and New York, according to Axios. Narya Capital received start-up money from Thiel, former Google CEO Eric Schmidt, and software developer Marc Andreessen. (RELATED: J.D. Vance On Why The Media Doesn’t Understand Trump Supporters)
Republican Ohio Sen. Rob Portman announced on Jan. 25 that he would not run for re-election in 2022. The Republican primary field is expected to be crowded, with former state Republican Party chairwoman Jane Timken and former Ohio treasurer Josh Mandel already declaring. Rep. Jim Jordan would have been considered a heavy favorite, but he declined to run.