This story was originally published by the WND News Center.

GOP presidential hopeful Donald J. Trump, just as the Republican National Convention was getting under way on Monday, announced U.S. Sen. JD Vance as his 2024 running mate.

Vance of Ohio has been a vocal ally of Trump, and at 39, would be one of the youngest vice presidents ever.

Vance long had been considered a top option for Trump, and the choice was announced only days after Trump escaped an assassin's bullet during a Butler, Pennsylvania, rally.

Vance, over the weekend, blamed Democrats for the rhetoric, the atmosphere, and the political weaponization that Democrats have brought against Trump and resulted in the shooting.

"The central premise of the Biden campaign is that President Donald Trump is an authoritarian fascist who must be stopped at all costs. That rhetoric led directly to President Trump's attempted assassination," the senator explained on social media.

Leftist publications immediately pointed out that the choice means that "the Republican Party's 2024 ticket with (sic) have neither a woman nor a person of color on it."

Kamala Harris, vice president for Joe Biden, is a woman and a person of color, and has had a noticeably small impact on American policy and practice during her time as lady-in-waiting on Biden.

Trump's announcement noted, "After lengthy deliberation and thought, and considering the tremendous talents of many others, I have decided that the person best suited to assume the position of vice president of the United States is Senator J.D. Vance of the great state of Ohio. J.D. honorably served our country in the Marine Corps, graduated from Ohio State University in two years, Summa Cum Laude, and is a Yale Law School Graduate, where he was editor of The Yale Law Journal, and president of the Yale Law Veterans Association.

"J.D.'s book, 'Hillbilly Elegy,' became a major best seller and movie, as it championed the hardworking men and women of our country. J.D. has had a very successful business career in technology and finance, and now, during the campaign, will be strongly focused on the people he fought so brilliantly for, the American workers and farmers in Pennsylvania, Michigan, Wisconsin, Ohio, Minnesota, and far beyond…."

Conservatives and pro-life activists, who have been concerned about moves in the GOP to ease up on its agenda for a nationwide pro-life law, were enthused.

SBA Pro-Life America President Marjorie Dannenfelser said, "J.D. Vance is an exceptional selection as President Trump's running mate. His courage in exposing the Democrats' agenda of abortion for any reason, even in the seventh, eighth, or ninth month, helped propel him to a decisive victory in the 2022 midterm elections.

"Vance's hardscrabble upbringing informs his compassionate approach to this issue. He saw firsthand how the deck can be stacked against women facing unexpected pregnancies if they do not have the support and resources they need, even though most would rather choose life. His ability to compellingly share these stories on a national stage will surely be an asset. During his time in the Senate, he has earned an A+ on our Scorecard. With approximately 750,000 babies in states like California and New York still lacking basic protections, we need champions whose boldness will not waver."

Vance grew up in Jackson, Kentucky, and Middletown, Ohio, and detailed his memories of a children impacted by poverty and abuse in his memoir, released in 2016.

His mother struggled with drug addiction and he spent years with his grandmother.

He joined the Marines after high school and served in Iraq.

His wife, Usha Vance, is a litigator for a law firm based in San Francisco and Washington. They met at Yale Law and married a year after they graduated, in 2013.

They have three young children: Ewan, Vivek and Mirabel.

He was elected to the Senate in 2022, when he defeated ex-Rep. Tim Ryan, a Democrat, in the race for an open Senate seat.

He's been critical of Trump in the past, but adjusted his comments for his 2022 Senate run, crediting Trump for his accomplishments while in the White House.

Vance supports tariffs on trade and opposes U.S. military intervention in foreign wars, especially between Russia and Ukraine, and he's opposed potential cuts to Social Security.

His Senate accomplishments include bipartisan work on rail safety and failed banks.

He's also unabashedly conservative, with legislation proposed to ban what trangender-promoting activists call gender-affirming "care," actually the use of chemicals and body mutilating surgeries to try to change a boy into a girl, or vice versa, even though that, scientifically, is impossible.