With two years left in his term, Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine now faces what he said is one of the 鈥渂iggest decisions鈥� he鈥檒l make: who does he send to the U.S. Senate in Vice President-elect JD Vance鈥檚 stead?
A handful of Republican possibles have contacted him about the job, DeWine said, and plenty more are putting in their two cents. Also behind that curtain, though, are calculations about who might succeed DeWine in 2026. He knows who he want.
鈥淚鈥檝e already said Jon Husted. Based on my six years working with him, he will be a great governor,鈥� DeWine said Thursday.
DeWine鈥檚 second-in-command isn鈥檛 the only likely contender for Ohio鈥檚 chief executive role, though. Attorney General Dave Yost doesn鈥檛 seem interested in the soon-to-be-vacant Senate seat.
鈥淚鈥檓 an executive,鈥� Yost said Tuesday night. 鈥淚鈥檝e never been a legislator, and I'm not ready to end my public service but I can鈥檛 imagine going to Washington, D.C. I would not accept that appointment.鈥�
RELATED - Ohio Republicans lining up to be DeWine鈥檚 choice to fill Vance鈥檚 U.S. Senate seat
When asked about the governor鈥檚 race on the horizon, he laughed.
鈥淚 think that we鈥檒l be making an announcement here, once we get tonight taken care of,鈥� Yost said.
Both men were working the crowed Tuesday night at a banquet hall in Westlake, where U.S. Sen.-elect Bernie Moreno and his most ardent backers were celebrating a big win against incumbent Sen. Sherrod Brown.
There are other possible GOP primary contenders, such as Vivek Ramaswamy鈥攖he former presidential candidate from Ohio seen as a rising star in the party. On Thursday, he said President-elect Donald Trump鈥檚 win creates plenty of 鈥減ossibilities to change the country.鈥�
鈥淲e鈥檙e obviously having discussions and they鈥檙e not going to be sorted out in the press,鈥� Ramaswamy said Thursday.
Ramaswamy announced earlier this month that he is moving his financial services firm Strive Asset Management from Dublin to Dallas, according to . There was no announcement if he would be personally moving outside of Ohio.
Another possible candidate is Jane Timken, who ran against Vance in the 2022 primary. She was Matt Borges as chair of the Ohio Republican Party when Trump took office in 2017.
DeWine will appoint a new senator to join Moreno once Vance resigns, which could be any time between now and Inauguration Day.
After a bruising election night for Democrats in Ohio, that primary field is slimmer. Amy Acton, DeWine鈥檚 former Ohio Department of Health Director, said she was thinking about it in August 2024. So far, though, nobody else has made serious noise about a possible primary bid.
