For Republicans these days, being luxurious is a disgrace. Not only have they captured the House of Representatives, the Senate and the White House, but they are sending many of their best and brightest into Donald Trump’s second administration. That leaves many vacancies to fill, and one of the most essential is the Ohio Senate seat vacated by Vice President-elect JD Vance.
Vance was elected to the U.S. Senate just two years ago. hit Democrat Tim Ryan replaces Rob Portman (right), who has resigned. Our next Vice President spent his brief Senate career in the minority, but his successor will have a Republican Party-controlled Senate with its brand modern Majority Leader, Senator John Thune (R-SD).
The final decision on who replaces Vance ultimately rests with Ohio Governor Mike DeWine, a Republican. As RedState’s Ward Clark previously reported:
Ohio is one of them 36 states in which a vacancy in the Senate is filled by a gubernatorial appointment. In Ohio, the appointed senator then serves until the next regular general election; So whoever Gov. DeWine appoints will serve until 2026, when a special election will be held. The winner of this special election remains in office for the remainder of the original term and can then independently run for re-election. Senator – now Vice President-elect – Vance would have filed for the Senate election in 2028.
Initial speculation about Vance’s successor focused on former presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy, but he will be busy running the non-governmental Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) alongside Elon Musk.
So with Vivek Ramaswamy out of the race, who is DeWine likely to win? A few names are floating around.
Attorney Mehek Cooke, a Republican lawyer who served as Trump’s political and legal surrogate in 2024, is expected to be tapped to fill Vance’s seat, a source familiar with the situation told Fox News Digital.
Known as a standout fundraiser at Ohio State, Cooke appeared on Fox News and was a vocal supporter of President-elect Trump during the 2024 campaign, in which he won Ohio by 11 points and his support in the state is considered to carry significant weight.
Cooke is a wife, mother of two and a naturalized Indian citizen. A prominent GOP donor from Ohio said from Cooke: “She is a proud American citizen, she is proud of this country and she has a very kind heart and understands that not everyone has the same opportunities. She believes strongly in what is right and what is wrong, and you know where she is.”
Sources close to the Ohio governor RAccording to reports said that “the advancement of women is important to DeWine and that he would like to appoint a woman to the seat, although gender is not the determining factor.”
Here are some other options.
Republican Jane Timken, an Ohio lawyer who served as chairwoman of the Ohio Republican Party from 2017 to 2021, is widely seen as another potential Vance successor.
Other candidates reportedly include Ohio’s Republican Secretary of State Frank LaRose, Republican Lieutenant Governor Jon Husted, Attorney General Dave Yost, Treasurer Robert Sprague and State Senator Matt Dolan.
Then there are the current House members under consideration: Reps. Mike Carey, David Joyce and Warren Davidson. Choosing one of these names could be very complex since Republicans in the modern Congress only have a slim majority in the House of Representatives and need to replace at least three incumbent (or recently resigned) members who were nominated to serve the Trump administration’s term. Naming another lawmaker to replace Vance could shake things up.
Gov. DeWine’s press secretary, Dan Tierney, has said The governor will name a replacement once Vance officially resigns from the U.S. Senate.
