The "Hillbilly Elegy" author turned US Senate hopeful J.D. Vance blew past the October 29 deadline to file federally mandated financial-disclosure forms.
Vance's disclosure could detail the money he made from five years of tech investing and "Hillbilly Elegy" sales, as well as his subsequent Netflix adaptation deal. It could also provide information about business ties Vance has to the billionaire Republican megadonor Peter Thiel, who is financially backing Vance's Senate bid.
Such financial disclosures also detail candidates' investments in public and private companies, real estate, brokerage accounts, pensions, and other holdings. They also show any debt that candidates have.
One disclosure last month showed the Senate candidate Blake Masters' portfolio included cryptocurrencies, gold and silver, and guns. The filing by Masters, a Republican seeking to represent Arizona, was nearly 10 weeks late.
Under federal law, Vance had 30 days to disclose his financial records after he filed his campaign paperwork with the Federal Election Commission. His first deadline was July 31, but he filed for and was granted an extension, which made October 29 the new deadline.
Two days after the due date passed, his campaign told Insider it was waiting on additional information from unspecified "third parties."
"Once we receive everything we need, we will file the report, which is well within the 30-day period provided for in the rules," Taylor Van Kirk, Vance's press secretary, told Insider.
Federal officials generally waive a $200 late-filing fee as long as a candidate files no more than 30 days late. But Vance is still in violation of the law for failing to disclose the financial documents on time.
Insider has found no documentation of candidates or even current senators paying such a fine.
"Financial-disclosure laws have strict deadlines because voters have a right to know the candidate's potential conflicts of interests well before they cast their ballots," Kedric Payne, the senior director of ethics at the nonpartisan Campaign Legal Center, told Insider. "When candidates fail to comply with the deadlines, voters should question whether they will comply with ethics laws once elected."
The Ohio Democratic Party highlighted Vance's blown deadline in a Monday email blast.
"For a millionaire like Vance, a deadline is just a suggestion," the email said.
The top-polling candidate in the Ohio race, former state Treasurer Josh Mandel, filed his financial-disclosure form in mid-August and on time. Mandel's top source of income — nearly $300,000 — came from the insurer Athene, whose board he joined in October 2019.
A late September poll by WPA Intelligence showed Mandel leading with 37% of the vote, while Vance trailed in second at 13%. One-quarter of voters were undecided.
Unexplained conflicts of interest
In 2016, Vance joined the Thiel-backed venture-capital firm Mithril Capital, then hopped to Steve Case's venture-capital firm, Revolution, the following year.
In 2019, he left to found his own venture-capital firm in Ohio, Narya Capital. Vance's investors in his debut $100 million fund include Thiel, former Google CEO Eric Schmidt, and the legendary venture capitalist Marc Andreessen.
This summer, Vance took a leave of absence from Narya, handing the firm reins to cofounder Colin Greenspon.
His campaign has repeatedly declined to answer questions from Insider about how Vance would separate his conflicts of interest between his investments — which include companies in agriculture and defense — and his seat in the Senate.
Experts on venture capital expressed concern about Vance's potential conflicts in an August investigation by Insider into his mixed record as a tech investor and nonprofit founder.
"There are a thousand red flags," said Jeff Sohl, the director of the University of New Hampshire's Center for Venture Research. "You're either going to be a really great VC and a bad senator, or a bad VC and a great senator. Or what will likely happen is you're worse at both because you can't do both jobs."
