Thiel Donates $15M to JD Vance Senate Race, Manufacturing a U.S. Senator

Peter Thiel donated $15 million to Protect Ohio Values PAC supporting JD Vance's 2022 Ohio Senate campaign — the largest known donation from a single individual to a Senate race at that time. Vance had worked for Thiel at Mithril Capital venture fund, and Thiel personally introduced Vance to Donald Trump at Mar-a-Lago in 2021 after Vance had been a Trump critic. Vance won the Republican primary in May 2022 and the general election in November 2022. By 2024, Thiel's creation — Vance — was selected as Trump's vice presidential running mate, entering the White House as the first sitting VP with direct employment ties to a specific tech billionaire donor.