Ohio Lt. Gov. Jon Husted chosen to fill Vance’s Senate seat

Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine (R) announced Friday that he is selecting Lt. Gov. Jon Husted (R) to fill the Senate seat vacated by Vice President-elect JD Vance.

DeWine made the announcement at a press conference at 1 p.m. EST Friday. Earlier this week, speculation grew that he might choose Vivek Ramaswamy, the former presidential candidate and incoming co-leader of President-elect Trump’s “Department of Government Efficiency” (DOGE). DeWine and Ramaswamy met last weekend to discuss the post, and Trump reportedly was urging Ramaswamy to seek the seat. 

But DeWine ultimately went with Husted, who has had an extensive career in Ohio politics and served as lieutenant governor under DeWine since 2019. He previously served in the Ohio state House and state Senate and as secretary of state in Ohio for eight years.

A longtime Republican operative previously confirmed Husted’s selection to The Hill.

Husted was the subject of speculation about possible Senate ambitions in 2022 to succeed retiring Sen. Rob Portman (R-Ohio), but he decided against it to instead seek reelection as lieutenant governor. Vance won that seat and held it until he announced his resignation from the office last week ahead of his swearing in as vice president Monday. 

Husted will serve in the position for at least roughly the next two years but will need to run in a special election in 2026 if he is to serve the full remainder of Vance’s term. If he wins that, he would then be up for election for a full term again in 2028.

That special election has already stirred speculation of possible candidates, including former Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio), who lost to Sen. Bernie Moreno (R) for the state’s other Senate seat in November. Brown had previously served three terms in the Senate representing the Buckeye State and has said he wouldn’t rule out running again. 

Ramaswamy, meanwhile, is set to co-lead DOGE along with Elon Musk to make recommendations to try to cut a lofty $2 trillion in government spending. He has noted an interest in possibly running for governor in 2026, once DeWine’s second term is over.