By the time Donald Trump is sworn in as president on January 20, Ohio will have two freshmen US Senators on Capitol Hill. Gov. Mike DeWine will appoint a successor to Vice President-elect JD Vance when he resigns from the Senate, and that person will join Sen.-elect Bernie Moreno, who defeated three-term Democratic incumbent Sherrod Brown in November.
DeWine is a former US Senator himself, so he said he thinks he knows what it takes to be in that office 鈥� someone with a focus on national issues but also on Ohio.
鈥淚t also has to be someone who would win a primary. It has to be someone who can win a general election. And then two years later, we'll do all that again,鈥� DeWine said . 鈥淪o this is not for the faint hearted. This is not for someone who just wants to get a seat. This has to be someone who really wants to do the job and do the work and who we think has the ability to do it.鈥�
The appointee would serve till a special election in 2026, and then would have to run again in 2028, when the six-year term on Vance鈥檚 seat runs out.
One candidate appears to be in the lead: Lt. Gov. Jon Husted. Spokespeople for DeWine and Husted confirm that they traveled to Mar-a-Lago in Florida to visit former President Trump in recent weeks, but would not comment on the reason for the trip.
Husted is the most experienced politician in the potential pool. He鈥檚 been in elective office since winning a seat in the Ohio House in 2000, and was speaker and secretary of state. He ran for governor briefly in 2017 before . That ticket won in 2018 and 2022. Husted has raised over $5 million for a run for governor in 2026, and DeWine has said he thinks Husted would be excellent in that role. On election night, Husted didn鈥檛 want to talk about who might take Vance鈥檚 seat.
鈥淕oodness. We're just going to celebrate tonight. Enjoy tonight. And those things will take care of themselves over time,鈥� Husted said.
Jane Timken is also mentioned as a possible appointee. She was voted in as chairman of the Ohio Republican Party in 2017 after , who had supported former Gov. John Kasich over Trump. She resigned that position to join the six others who ran against Vance for the GOP nomination in 2022.
鈥淭here are a lot of show horses in this race, but I鈥檓 the workhorse who will lead with grit and grace. President Trump asked me to take over the Republican Party and I delivered Ohio for President Trump,鈥� Timken said during the presented by the Ohio Debate Commission in March 2022.
Republicans have only a five-seat advantage in the US House, the slimmest margin in a century. DeWine has admitted that is a factor in his decision, which suggests he may not choose from one of Ohio鈥檚 10 Republican congressmen, though U.S. Rep. Mike Carey (R-OH 15) has said he鈥檇 like to move to the Senate.
Two choices seen as long shots have run for the Senate before: Secretary of State Frank LaRose and now-former Sen. Matt Dolan (R-Chagrin Falls). They to Trump-endorsed Moreno last March, though Dolan was endorsed by DeWine. Dolan also lost to Vance.
Treasurer Robert Sprague has also expressed interest in the job. He's a former state lawmaker. He, like LaRose and the other three statewide executive officeholders, is term limited and can't run for re-election in 2026.
Not every Republican wants the Senate seat
Two people who have said they don鈥檛 want the job. Ohio-based tech entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy, who鈥檒l be leading the Department of Government Efficiency with Elon Musk, in November that he was withdrawing from consideration for the appointment. And Attorney General Dave Yost has also said he's not interested.
鈥淚鈥檓 an executive,鈥� . 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�
Yost on Nov. 19 showing him walking up to the doors of the governor鈥檚 Statehouse office with the words 鈥渟tepping up for Ohio, coming Q1 2025鈥�. It could be a big year for Yost, with the against former FirstEnergy executives Chuck Jones and Michael Dowling looming, though no trial date has been set yet. While neither Husted nor DeWine have been charged and both have of the corruption scheme to pass the House Bill 6 nuclear power plant bailout for FirstEnergy, there are text messages between them and the former executives, and FirstEnergy鈥檚 donation to a dark money group that backed Husted鈥檚 run for governor in 2017. Yost was criticized last year for striking a settlement with FirstEnergy for $20 million, which many .
Whoever is chosen could end up facing the man who got to the Senate by defeating DeWine in 2006 鈥� Sherrod Brown. Brown has not ruled out running for Vance鈥檚 seat in 2026.
鈥淭his is my last speech on the Senate floor, but it鈥檚 not, I promise you, the last time you鈥檒l hear from me,鈥� Brown said in an to his colleagues on Dec. 19.
Vance is still in office so won鈥檛 be sworn in again with Moreno and all members of the Senate and Congress who ran last year and won, and DeWine has said he鈥檒l wait on the announcement till Vance resigns, sometime before he鈥檚 inaugurated vice president on Jan. 20.