JACKSON, KY — The home where Sen. J.D. Vance (R-OH) spent his summers with his grandparents still stands just outside a tiny town in Breathitt County, Kentucky. Vance has credited this place with shaping who he is, a testament to his deep connection to Appalachia, located just under 200 miles from Middletown, Ohio. Despite the instability caused by his mother’s struggles with addiction and failed marriages, this place remains a source of inspiration for Vance. 

The area is beautiful in that haunting Appalachian way: The mountains arc softly, and the hollers in between them, such as the Panbowl Branch, where the family homestead sits, hold homes often in decay. It’s a place where people who hold on to hope to make something of themselves and others try to power through the best they can.