Vice President-elect J.D. Vance is resigning from his Ohio seat in the U.S. Senate, effective Friday.
Vance made his intentions known in a letter Thursday to Ohio Republican Gov. Mike DeWine, who will choose his successor.
"As I prepare to assume my duties as Vice President of the United States, I would like to express that it has been a tremendous honor and privilege to serve the people of Ohio in the Senate over the past two years," Vance wrote.
In a separate statement released by Vance, he nodded to his hardscrabble roots growing up in Appalachia.
"When I was elected to this office, I promised to never forget where I came from, and I've made sure to live by that promise every single day," Vance said.
DeWine has said he would make the appointment once Vance vacates the seat. A spokesperson said DeWine was at a governors' event at President-elect Donald Trump's Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida on Thursday night, making it unlikely he would announce any appointment before Friday.
DeWine has the sole duty of appointing a successor to Vance, who was elected to a six-year term in 2022. A long list of elected Republicans in the state has expressed interest in the seat, including Secretary of State Frank LaRose, Treasurer Robert Sprague, Rep. Mike Carey, state Sen. Matt Dolan, former Republican state chair Jane Timken and GOP attorney and strategist Mehek Cooke.
However, speculation has most recently focused on Lt. Gov. Jon Husted, who accompanied DeWine on a recent trip to Mar-a-Lago to speak with Trump.
DeWine declined to hint as to the subject of those discussions when asked by reporters during a Wednesday bill-signing at the Statehouse in Columbus, Ohio.
"I'm not ready to make an announcement yet, but the announcement will be coming soon," he said.
Husted, who was also present, said merely, "We're considering all the options, and just, that's really all I have to say."
Husted has been considered a front-runner to run for governor in 2026, after spending years positioning for the job. He is a former Ohio House speaker, state senator and two-term secretary of state.
Whomever DeWine appoints will serve until December 2026. They would need to run again for the remainder of the term in November 2026.