Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine has named Lt. Governor Jon Husted to replace Vice President-elect J.D. Vance in the U.S. Senate, a pick that could be considered safe and non-controversial for the governor.
Husted, 57, Ohio’s 66th lieutenant governor, has held the position since January 2019. Before his tenure as the state’s second in command, Husted served as Ohio’s secretary of state and in the state House and state Senate; he was twice unanimously elected to serve as House speaker.
DeWine, who has sometimes been at odds with President-elect Donald Trump, has played coy about who he would tap to fill the seat.
“We have worked to make Ohio great again, and I look forward to working with President Trump, JD Vance, to make America great again,” Husted said during a Friday afternoon press briefing. Trump “won Ohio by 11 points in this past election, and I will do all I can to help him and JD Vance be successful.”
According to VoteSmart, in 2022, the National Rifle Association rated Husted 92%, and Ohio Right to Life endorsed him that year. However, the Buckeye Firearms Association rated him 73%.
“From his time as speaker of the Ohio House to his recent service as lieutenant governor of Ohio, Husted has built a strong record addressing issues that matter most to Ohioans,” Americans for Prosperity-Ohio (AFP-OH) State Director Donovan O’Neil said in a statement. “Jon Husted has been instrumental in his support of a variety of policy issues, including expanding education opportunity through the EdChoice Scholarship program, supporting comprehensive tax reform, championing the implementation of regulation reform, and modernizing how Ohioans interact with state government.”
In May 2022, Heartland BancCorp, the parent company of Heartland Bank, a Columbus-area community bank, appointed Husted as “a paid member of its corporate board,” Cleveland.com reported at the time.
The governor had a broad list of possible candidates to succeed Vance, who defeated former Democratic Rep. Tim Ryan in 2022 to succeed Republican U.S. Sen. Rob Portman, who opted not to seek a third term, in a highly watched race with national implications. Husted will have to run in a 2026 special election, and the seat will be up for a full six-year term in 2028.
“There were many people who I considered very qualified to serve in the United States Senate to represent the state of Ohio,” DeWine said during a Friday afternoon press briefing. “But I came to the conclusion, as you see, that the person who is best suited to be the United States senator is a person who has been close to me for the last six years, a person who, almost daily, I work with.”
The pick could be interpreted as DeWine's safe pick. A week ago, in speaking to Spectrum News 1, Tom Sutton, a political science professor at Baldwin Wallace University, called Husted a DeWine protege.
“I don’t think he’s necessarily as populist that you would see in some of the MAGA Republicans,” Sutton told the outlet. “But definitely something you can straddle that with positions where they do align, particularly on tax policy, regulation, economic development, and of course social conservatism highlighted by the issue of abortion.”
Among the possible candidates considered possible replacements for Vance, who will be sworn in Monday as vice president, were Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose and Attorney General Dave Yost, both possible gubernatorial contenders in 2026. A November WPA Intelligence survey found that LaRose topped the field of Vance replacements. The poll found LaRose had the best chance of defending the seat in 2026.
The governor’s pick could throw a wrinkle in the state’s 2026 gubernatorial election. The race for the state’s top elected office looks to be a high-profile affair with the announcement that Dr. Amy Acton, the controversial former state health director during the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, is running for governor as a Democrat.
Cincinnati native Vivek Ramaswamy, a presidential candidate in the 2024 GOP primary, was also seen as a contender to replace Vance. He withdrew his name from consideration as he worked with Trump’s transition team on the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), only to reappear in the discussion surrounding the seat in recent days.
However, Ramaswamy’s name could emerge again for next year’s gubernatorial race.
DeWine’s pick follows that of Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, who named Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody to replace Republican Marco Rubio in the U.S. Senate. Trump tapped Rubio to serve as secretary of state.
Editor's note: This article has been updated since its initial publication.
