The International Franchise Association is praising the selection of Sen. J.D. Vance as the Republican Party’s vice presidential candidate in the 2024 elections, citing his support of measures the trade group has championed on Capitol Hill.
The trade group singled out Vance’s support of legislation that would block the National Labor Relations Board from defining franchisors as joint employers of their franchisees’ staffs, the IFA’s key issue through three White House administrations. The bill was approved by the U.S. House of Representatives and the Senate but vetoed by President Biden.
“We applaud the selection of Sen. Vance as President Trump’s running mate and are grateful for his support of the franchise business model,” Matt Haller, CEO of the IFA, said in announcing the endorsement.
Before winning one of Ohio’s U.S. Senate seats in 2022, Vance was likely best known as the author of “Hillbilly Elegy,” a best-selling memoir of growing up in the economically distressed rural communities of Kentucky and Ohio.
He left those working-class regions by joining the Marine Corps, then attending Yale School. He worked as a Silicon Valley venture capitalist before running for the Senate seat, his first elected post.
Vance initially came out as a pointed and very vocal critic of Trump on the political scene. But he has more recently espoused political positions more in line with the views voiced by the ex-president.
Many trade associations forgo endorsing a presidential ticket to avoid alienating the leader and rank-and-file members of the other party.
Trump named Vance as his vice presidential running mate on Monday.
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