Once Vice President-elect JD Vance resigned his Senate seat last Friday, the race was on for Ohio Governor Mike DeWine (R) to name a replacement. Republicans won a 53-47 majority back in November, but leaving a seat open for too long could jeopardize their ability to get important legislation, including the Laken Riley Act, passed.
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There was rampant speculation over who DeWine would tap to serve through the 2026 special election to replace Vance, and many thought former presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy was a shoo-in for the job. As it turns out, DeWine selected his own lieutenant governor, Jon Husted, to head to Capitol Hill.
I'm proud to announce that I have selected @LtGovHusted to serve in the U.S. Senate, replacing Vice President-elect @JDVance. pic.twitter.com/W5918DDaCz
— Governor Mike DeWine (@GovMikeDeWine) January 17, 2025
DeWine said of his selection:
"I have worked with him, I have seen him. I know his knowledge of Ohio. I know his heart. I know what he cares about. I know his skills," DeWine said at a Friday news conference from the Ohio Statehouse in Columbus. "All of that tells me he is the right person for this job."
DeWine and Husted reportedly met with President-elect Donald Trump at Mar-a-Lago last month to discuss candidates for both the pending Senate vacancy and the 2026 governor's race; DeWine is term-limited from running again. Trump, who has butted heads with DeWine in the past, apparently declined to endorse Husted for either job.
Nonetheless, Husted signaled his eagerness to work with the Trump administration:
It is my honor to accept the appointment to serve in the U.S. Senate.
— Jon Husted (@JonHusted) January 17, 2025
We have worked to Make Ohio Great Again & I look forward to working with @RealDonaldTrump & @JDVance to Make America Great Again! pic.twitter.com/fwIgst3gEm
Husted, 57, admitted he thought long and hard before deciding he would accept the position.
"This decision was not made lightly," Husted, a former Ohio secretary of state and state House speaker, said while standing alongside his wife, Tina, and DeWine. "My family and I listened to the advice of so many people, including the governor and so many others."
It had previously been thought that DeWine would select a woman to replace Vance.
Sources close to Ohio's governor reportedly said that "elevating women is important to DeWine and that he would like to appoint a woman to the seat, although gender is not the deciding factor."
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As RedState reported back in November, Republican attorneys Mehek Cooke and Jane Timken were two women DeWine had under consideration. Some (unnamed) sources allege that Ramaswamy, despite being named co-chair of Trump's Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), had in recent days "been lobbying like hell" to replace Vance in the Senate, learning shortly before Friday's announcement that he was not DeWine's final choice.
Husted, previously thought be a top contender to replace DeWine as governor, will be in the Senate through the 2026 special election. He will then have to run if he wishes to remain a Senator through 2028, which is when Vance's term ends.
It is unclear when Husted's swearing-in will take place.
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