Ohio Lt. Gov. Jon Husted will succeed JD Vance in Senate

Daniela Altimari, CQ-Roll Call on Jan 17, 2025

By clicking submit, I authorize Arcamax and its affiliates to: (1) use, sell, and share my information for marketing purposes, including cross-context behavioral advertising, as described in our Privacy Policy , (2) add to information that I provide with other information like interests inferred from web page views, or data lawfully obtained from data brokers, such as past purchase or location data, or publicly available data, (3) contact me or enable others to contact me by email or other means with offers for different types of goods and services, and (4) retain my information while I am engaging with marketing messages that I receive and for a reasonable amount of time thereafter. I understand I can opt out at any time through an email that I receive, or by clicking here

WASHINGTON — Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine on Friday appointed his lieutenant governor and fellow Republican, Jon Husted, to fill the Senate seat vacated by Vice President-elect JD Vance.

Husted said at a news conference with DeWine in Columbus that stepping away from his current role “has not been easy.’’

“But representing Ohio in the U.S. Senate is an amazing opportunity,” he said. “It’s something that an adopted kid who grew up on County Road J in Montpelier, Ohio, could have never imagined.”

Husted said he spoke with President-elect Donald Trump, Vance and the state’s newly elected senior senator, Republican Bernie Moreno, prior to the announcement.

“I’m going to help President Trump be successful, I’m going to be an ally for him,’’ Husted said.

Vance resigned his seat last week ahead of his swearing-in as vice president Monday, with four years remaining in his term. Husted’s appointment would run through November 2026, when a special election will be held for the final two years of Vance’s term. Husted signaled Friday that he would run in that election, telling a reporter he had accepted the appointment “with the full intention of running for this office.”

DeWine, who himself served two terms in the Senate, told reporters that he looked for someone who understood Ohio’s diverse population, the interplay between state and local government and was a workhorse who could juggle the complexities of being a senator.

“There were many people who I considered very qualified to serve in the United States Senate to represent the state of Ohio. But I came to the conclusion … that the person who is best suited … is a person who has been close to me for the last six years,” he said.

In selecting Husted, who had long been seen as the front-runner, DeWine skipped over several other choices, which reportedly included Vivek Ramaswamy, a former presidential contender and co-head of Trump’s unofficial Department of Government Efficiency, and Jane Timken, a former Ohio GOP chair, who ran for Senate in 2022 and lost a crowded Republican primary to Vance.

Husted, 57, said at the news conference that he was never all that interested in going to Washington when his children were younger and that “this decision was difficult.” But after his youngest daughter, who is in high school, encouraged him to take the appointment, he concluded that the time was right.

“It’s the opportunity to … work with President Trump and a Republican majority, to do the things that I think will make America a better country,” Husted said. “And once you really look at it like that, it was an opportunity that I couldn’t pass up.”

Husted will be joined in the Senate by another Republican appointee — Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody was named Thursday by Gov. Ron DeSantis as his choice to succeed Sen. Marco Rubio, who is expected to be confirmed as Trump’s secretary of State. Like Ohio, Florida will hold a special election in 2026 for the final two years of the departing senator’s term.

Longtime fixture in Ohio politics

Husted is a longtime player in Buckeye State politics. A onetime official with the Dayton Area Chamber of Commerce, he was elected to the Ohio House in 2000, eventually rising to become speaker. He won election to the state Senate in 2008 and, two years later, won statewide office by knocking off the Democratic incumbent to become secretary of state. After two terms as Ohio’s top elections official, he was elected lieutenant governor on a ticket with DeWine in 2018.

Husted in his remarks Friday highlighted his work in the Legislature and as secretary of state and lieutenant governor to improve Ohio’s business climate, promote school choice and cut taxes. He grew emotional when he cited his efforts to advocate for foster children.

His long career in government sets him apart from both Vance and Moreno, neither of whom had held elective office before arriving in the Senate.

“In the last two Senate elections in Ohio, we’ve seen outsiders with no political background at all come in and win primaries with the Trump endorsement, and then win the general election,” said Sam Nelson, a political science professor at the University of Toledo. Husted “has been paying his dues and working his way up within the party, so he’s a more conventional politician.”

Husted had long been seen as interested in running for governor, an office he briefly sought during the 2018 cycle before becoming DeWine’s running mate. DeWine, a former senator, is currently in his second term and ineligible for a third stint in office.

With Husted likely out of gubernatorial consideration, the 2026 governor’s race in Ohio is set to become “a free-for-all,” Nelson said.

And the list of gubernatorial hopefuls could soon include Ramaswamy, who is expected to announce a campaign, The Washington Post reported. Ohio’s Republican attorney general, Dave Yost, told WTOL11 in Toledo last month that he also intends to run. On the Democratic side, Amy Acton, a physician and former health director under DeWine who led the state’s COVID-19 response, launched her campaign last week.