COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — Ohio Republican Lt. Gov. Jon Husted will succeed Vice President-elect JD Vance in the U.S. Senate, the state’s governor announced Friday.
Gov. Mike DeWine’s decision ends months of wrangling among top Ohio Republicans for the coveted seat that Vance held for less than two years before resigning on Jan. 10. Choosing Husted will eliminate at least one top contender from the 2026 gubernatorial race, DeWine said, but he still expects the field to be crowded.
He said a huge consideration is that his longtime right-hand man has extensive government experience that Ohio’s last two U.S. senators – Vance and Cleveland businessman Bernie Moreno, both political newcomers when elected – lacked.
Husted, 57, is a former speaker of the Ohio House of Representatives, a state senator and a two-time Ohio secretary of state. He has been lieutenant governor since 2019. Husted will serve until December 15, 2026. A special election for the final two years of Vance’s six-year term will be held in November 2026.
DeWine stood next to Husted and called him a trusted partner in vital decisions.
“I’ve worked with him, I’ve seen him, I know his knowledge of Ohio,” DeWine said. “I know his heart. I know what interests him. I know his abilities. And all that tells me he’s the right person for the job.”
Husted had a reputation for bipartisanship when he led the Ohio House. He said Friday that he would work to find common ground in Washington, but also vowed to fully support President-elect Donald Trump’s agenda and also vote for all of his Cabinet nominees.
Flanked by his wife, Tina, and three children, Husted teared up at times as he accepted DeWine’s appointment, noting how much he has enjoyed his work in state government over the past 20-plus years.
“My time here at the Statehouse has been a true joy, but representing Ohio in the U.S. Senate is a great opportunity,” he said. “I mean, it’s amazing, and it’s something an adopted child growing up on County Road J in Montpelier, Ohio, could never have imagined.”
DeWine, himself a former U.S. senator, called it one of the two best jobs after the president in politics, along with governor. Husted said he couldn’t even imagine he would replace Vance when he gave his nomination speech at the Republican National Convention this summer. It’s the third time in as many years that Ohio has had a vacant Senate seat.
The governor has been inundated with requests for consideration, including from several people who sought the seat and lost in recent elections, two statewide officeholders and people outside the government.
Former Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy, a Cincinnati biotech entrepreneur who is co-leading Trump’s government efficiency drive, further roiled the Senate reservoir in recent days when he visited DeWine to express his interest in the seat.
But DeWine, who has at times separated himself from Trump, ultimately placed his trust in a person who he said has extensive knowledge of the complexities of Ohio – the seventh-largest state in the country with extensive rural areas, numerous vast cities and part of the Appalachian Mountains – as well as a Solid understanding of federal and state cooperation.
DeWine made two trips to Mar-a-Lago in the weeks before his decision. Both DeWine and Husted said they spoke with Trump Friday morning and he had kind things to say.
Any hope that Husted’s election might support avert a Republican duel for governor in 2026 — when he and Attorney General Dave Yost were already positioning themselves to run — was instead immediately dashed with an immediate behind-the-scenes fight for the position for Ohio’s highest state-level elective office. They include Ramaswamy, who could announce a bid at any time, and Ohio Treasurer Robert Sprague, who filed paperwork Friday to seek the office.
But Husted was considered the early front-runner for governor because of his fundraising and efforts to build a campaign organization. Yost, meanwhile, had said he would decline the Senate nomination if DeWine offered it to him.
It’s possible that the special election for the remainder of Vance’s unexpired term in November 2026 will provide a comeback opportunity for former U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown, who was unseated by Moreno in November. During his final speech on the Senate floor on Dec. 17, Brown said it wouldn’t be the last Ohioans would hear from him.
It was considered a possibility that Brown would run for governor, but it appears he has thrown his weight behind former health director Amy Acton’s gubernatorial bid, which launched earlier this month.
DeWine made it clear in advance that he wanted the Republican he picked for the Senate to be well-positioned to serve statewide in 2026 and again for the full Senate term beginning in 2028 Defeating Democratic candidates.
Husted said he is willing and has a track record of success. He successfully ran twice for Ohio Secretary of State, state elections director, and twice for lieutenant governor. In fact, his strength as a statewide candidate was a key factor in DeWine putting him on the ticket in 2018, linking Husted’s own gubernatorial campaign to his own.
Still, DeWine called the ordeal of two consecutive elections “not for the faint of heart.” Last year’s contest between Brown and Moreno was the most steep in the country, topping $400 million in spending by campaigns and outside groups.
The Democrats indicated on Friday that it would not be uncomplicated for Husted.
State Rep. Elizabeth Walters’ reaction suggested that Husted’s previously unresolved ties to what has been described as the largest corruption scheme in state history is sure to become a campaign issue. Husted was not accused of wrongdoing. But the federal investigation that brought up-to-date charges Friday also included a request for his documents and testimony.
“While Gov. DeWine has literally given Husted a get-out-of-jail-free card, Ohioans will not tolerate a career politician with a penchant for corruption and scandal,” Walters said in a statement. “It is already clear that we cannot trust Husted. Over the next two years, Democrats will work tirelessly to hold Husted accountable and will fight for this seat in the midterm elections.”
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This story has been corrected to reflect that Vance resigned his Senate seat on January 10, not January 17.
