Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine's deputy, Lt. Gov. Jon Husted, is being seen as a front-runner for an appointment to fill Vice President-elect JD Vance's Senate seat, but there are questions about whether Husted, who is contemplating a gubernatorial race, will accept the appointment.
"DeWine can still surprise, but it would be a shock to everyone," one GOP consultant told the Washington Examiner, speaking on condition of anonymity, the outlet reported Friday.
Vance resigned his seat Thursday. Ohio will have two Republican senators after his seat is filled, as Democrat Sherrod Brown, a third-term incumbent, lost his seat to GOP Sen. Bernie Moreno in November.
DeWine is expected to make his announcement in the upcoming days. Husted has been thinking about running for governor in 2026, as DeWine is term-limited.
A spokesman for the governor would not comment about who could be on the short list for Vance's seat, but another source familiar with discussions said former Ohio GOP Chairwoman Jane Timken and former state Rep. Jay Edwards are also being considered.
The GOP primary to succeed DeWine is already crowded. Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost has been raising money for a campaign, and Vivek Ramaswamy, one of the leaders of President-elect Donald Trump's Department of Government Efficiency, is also considering entering the race.
Yost told the Examiner last summer that he supports DeWine appointing Husted to replace Vance, but at the same time said he thought "we will have no shortage of people who can hold that seat."
DeWine has said he wants a Republican who is both electable and results oriented to finish Vance's term. The person picked will need to compete for the seat in a special election in 2026 and then run again in 2028 for a full six-year term.
"We want someone who's gonna go there, or at least has the intent to stay, and do everything they can to stay there," DeWine commented at the Republican National Convention.
DeWine signaled in August that he would support Husted if he runs for governor.
Meanwhile, Husted and DeWine traveled to Trump's Mar-a-Lago home to speak with the president-elect.
DeWine visited with Trump there again Thursday at a reception for Republican governors, where he told reporters that he'll likely pick Vance's replacement next week.
Sandy Fitzgerald ✉
Sandy Fitzgerald has more than three decades in journalism and serves as a general assignment writer for Newsmax covering news, media, and politics.
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