Ohio Lt. Gov. Jon Husted will fill the vacant U.S. Senate seat left by Vice President-elect J.D. Vance.
Gov. Mike DeWine, a former U.S. senator himself, made the appointment Friday afternoon after a week of speculation following Vance’s resignation Jan. 9. Vance will be sworn in Monday as vice president.
“I think I have a pretty good idea of what it takes to succeed in the United States Senate and what it takes to represents your state,” DeWine said. “Ohio is a complex state. I wanted someone who had a firm grasp of the complexity of Ohio. I also wanted someone who understands the interaction between the federal government and the state government. I came to the conclusion that the person who is best suited to be the United States Senator is someone who has been close to me for the past six years and that is Lt. Gov. Jon Husted.”
DeWine said Husted has played a part in every major decision he had made over the past six years, particularly in the areas of economic development, energy and broadband.
“It is my honor to accept the appointment to serve the people of Ohio in the U.S. Senate,” Husted said. “We have worked to make Ohio great again and I look forward to working with President Trump and J.D. Vance to make America great again.”
DeWine will now nominate a new lieutenant governor, who would have to be approved by both the Ohio House and Senate, which are currently dominated by Republicans.
Husted, 57, is a former House speaker and a two-term secretary of state. Originally from Detroit, he lives in Kettering and represented part of Montgomery County in the Ohio Senate.
He was a candidate for governor in 2018 before withdrawing and joining DeWine as his running mate.
Speculation had been Husted would run for governor in 2026. DeWine is term-limited from running again.
Husted will join freshman Republican Sen. Bernie Moreno in Washington to fill out the next two years of Vance’s term before running in a special election in 2026. The Senate flipped to a Republican majority in the 2024 election cycle and now stands at 53-47 with the appointment.
The winner of the special election will fill the final two years of Vance’s term.
Media outlets across the state consistently named Husted as the front-runner to replace Vance. Earlier this month, DeWine and Husted traveled to Mar-a-Lago in Florida to meet with President-elect Donald Trump and Vance.
DeWine also reportedly considered Secretary of State Frank LaRose and former Ohio Republican Party Chairman Jane Timken. Both lost the Republican primary to Moreno last year. The list also included Rep. Mike Carey.
DeWine also met recently with former presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy, who Trump selected to lead the Department of Government Efficiency, with Elon Musk.
