MIDDLETOWN, Ohio — While the Vice President-elect is getting ready to make decisions from the White House, the family living in his old house is speaking out

What You Need To Know

  • Amanda Bailey and her family of eight are now renting out the house where Vance grew up in Middletown 

  • Bailey says people from all over the country come and take pictures of the house and ask questions, she's concerned what they'll do with the house now that Vance is going to be Vice President 

  • The Middletown School district where Vance went to school called him an example for students and posted his old yearbook photo

Now that JD Vance is set to take the Vice President’s office in January, the feeling in his hometown is a little different, and his childhood home is getting a lot of attention.

The blue house just down McKinley Street in Middletown has become somewhat of its own celebrity.

“A lot of reporters, a lot of people drive by and take pictures. Some stop and ask questions. We’ve had people from out-of-state and overseas stop by, it’s been kind of awkward,” said current resident Amanda Bailey. 

It’s where Vice President-elect JD Vance grew up. Now it’s not Vance or any of his family who live there. It’s Bailey, her husband and six kids.

“When we moved in, my neighbor came out and introduced themselves and kind of asked us if we knew the history of the house,” said Bailey.

She says they’d been renting from a property management company for the last two years, so she and her kids started doing some digging online.

“They (Vance’s family) moved out of the house 20 years ago and lived here for the entire childhood. I was kinda shocked someone lived here for so long who is kinda famous now,” said Bailey’s daughter, Angelina Edgar. 

The Middletown School District did some digging, too. After the election, school leaders posted J.D. Vance’s old year book picture. He was known then as James Hamel. He graduated from Middletown High School in 2003.

In a statement, the district’s superintendent Deborah Houser said the following:

“Middletown City School District recognizes JD Vance’s accomplishments, as he assumes one of the highest offices in our nation. Mr. Vance’s journey, from his roots in Middletown through his career as an author, veteran, and U.S. Senator, highlights the diverse potential of our students. His election to the vice presidency is a moment of distinction for our district and an example to our students that Middies will rise to achieve anything they put their minds to.”

“It makes me feel like I can do anything I want if I put my mind to it,” said Bailey’s son and Middletown school’s student, Damion Edgar. 

But since Vance is headed to the White House, Bailey is concerned about what will happen to his old house that they’re living in.

“You don’t know what they’re going to do with my house. They can up and sell it, make it a historical mark and then I’m stuck finding a place to live,” said Bailey.

For now, she says they’re hoping the house will be there now, infamous forever home, and Vance makes the changes as Vice President.

“I don’t think personally he’s going to do anything direct for Middletown. I think he can do good things. It’s just a matter of if he actually does,” said Bailey. 

Spectrum News also reached out to Middletown city leaders and the city’s mayor to ask about what they hope a Vance Vice Presidency will mean for the city. They have not returned calls to comment.