The Republican vice presidential candidate, James David Vance, credits his wife Osha for supporting him until he was chosen by former President Donald Trump to accompany him in the election race against current President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris. After Trump announced his selection on Monday, American media attention shifted to Vance and his wife Osha, who has supported him throughout the years. Former President Trump announced on Monday that he had chosen Ohio Republican Senator James David Vance (JD Vance) for the vice presidential position in the presidential election.
#### Who is Osha?
Osha Vance, originally named Chhilokuri, was born in 1986 and grew up in San Diego, California. She studied at Yale Law School where she met her husband, according to a New York Times report. Osha revealed in a previous interview with NBC News that she and James were friends, stating, "I liked that he was very hardworking," while recounting details of their meeting. They married in 2014 in Kentucky, with the ceremony performed by a Hindu priest. They have three children: Ewan, Vivek, and Mirabel.
#### Cultural Background
Osha grew up in a diverse neighborhood in San Diego to immigrant parents from India. Immigration was a focus of James David Vance’s first advertisements in his 2022 Senate campaign in Ohio. While most ads were written by his advisors, Vance stated that he wrote the one about illegal immigration himself. He said in an advertisement while looking directly at the camera, "Joe Biden’s open borders are killing Ohioans." He added, "With more illegal drugs, more Democratic voters are flooding into this country." Vance's views on immigration largely reflect Trump’s stances, as he seeks to complete the border wall and has declared he will "oppose any attempt to grant amnesty" to immigrants who entered the U.S. illegally. Vance prefers what he calls a merit-based system for immigrants seeking to settle in the United States.
#### Where Does She Work?
Osha works as a lawyer in San Francisco and Washington, D.C. She previously served as law clerk for Chief Justice John Roberts, Justice Brett Kavanaugh, and Judge Amul Thapar. Before attending law school, she obtained her bachelor's degree in history from Yale University and a master's degree in philosophy from Cambridge University. Osha is known for her reserved nature and distance from the spotlight, but she has appeared at many political events alongside her husband. Vance acknowledges Osha’s role in his professional success, calling her his "spiritual mentor at Yale" in his book "Hillbilly Elegy." He praised her influence and support during a 2020 interview with Megyn Kelly. Osha has worked as an attorney at the firm Munger, Tolles & Olson in San Francisco and Washington, D.C. According to the firm’s website, she worked there from 2015 to 2017 before transitioning to a law clerk position at the Supreme Court until 2018. She returned to Munger, Tolles & Olson in January 2019, and her current practice focuses on "civil litigation and appeals across a wide range of sectors, including higher education, local government, entertainment, and technology," according to the firm.
