Ohio’s Lt. Gov. Jon Husted to fill U.S. Senate seat vacated by JD Vance

Ohio’s Lt. Gov. Jon Husted will be the state’s next U.S. Senator.

Gov. Mike DeWine announced his pick to replace Vice-President elect JD Vance in the Senate on Friday. Vance resigned from the chamber on Jan. 10, in advance of his inauguration.

“Every major decision I have made the last six years as governor of the state of Ohio, Jon Husted has played a part in that decision,” DeWine said announcing his decision in Columbus with Husted beside him. “It should not be a shock that Jon and I might disagree on some things. But even in the cases where he saw things differently, my decision was informed, was helped by his input.”

Husted served as Ohio’s House speaker and secretary of state before he briefly ran against DeWine for governor. But he then joined DeWine as his running mate for the state’s 2018 gubernatorial election.

“My time here at the Statehouse has been a true joy, but representing Ohio in the U.S. Senate is an amazing opportunity,” Husted said. “It is something that an adopted kid who grew up on County Road in Montpelier, Ohio, could have never imagined. I know Ohio well, and I will fight for Ohio as a U.S. Senator.”

The appointment was more than two months in the making, with a number of Republican leaders and officeholders thought to be on the list of possible candidates, including former Ohio GOP chair Jane Timken and biotech entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy.

DeWine had said last month that the narrow margin for Republicans in the U.S. House was a factor in his decision, essentially ruling out Ohio’s GOP congressmen.

Both of Ohio’s U.S. Senators are freshmen. Husted joins Republican Sen. Bernie Moreno, who was sworn in earlier this month following his win over three-term Democratic incumbent Sherrod Brown.

Though Husted had filed paperwork to run for governor in 2026 and was already raising money for that campaign, Husted was considered a likely candidate for the Senate seat early on. DeWine confirmed that he and Husted had visited Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida earlier this month.

Ramaswamy had posted on X in November that he was taking himself out of contention for the appointment to head up President-elect Trump’s Department of Government Efficiency alongside Elon Musk.

Husted will have to run for the seat again in a special election next year.