Ohio Lt. Gov. Jon Husted emerges as leading contender for JD Vance’s Senate seat

Ohio Lt. Gov. Jon Husted is the leading candidate to replace Vice President-elect JD Vance in the US Senate, according to two Republican sources familiar with the deliberations.

Ohio Lt. Gov. Jon Husted is the leading candidate to replace Vice President-elect JD Vance in the US Senate, according to two Republican sources familiar with the deliberations. It’s up to Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine, a Republican, to appoint Vance’s replacement once the first-term senator resigns from his seat, which he must do before he and President-elect Donald Trump are sworn in on January 20. The two Republican sources stressed, however, that it’s not clear whether Husted would accept the appointment, as he has eyed the Ohio governor’s mansion for years. In the 2018 election cycle, Husted ran for governor against DeWine before dropping out to become DeWine’s running mate. Both DeWine and Husted traveled to Mar-a-Lago last month to meet with Trump, the sources confirmed. It’s not clear how seriously the appointment was discussed during that visit. The meeting with Trump was first reported by WEWS. A spokesperson for DeWine did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the trip. Ohio Republicans who have been close to Husted noted the lieutenant governor’s long-standing preference for the governor’s office compared with the prospect of serving in the US Senate. But those same Republicans noted that an appointment to a Senate seat — which would initially spare him a contested primary — could make the job more appealing. The Columbus Dispatch and NBC News first reported on Husted’s status as the Senate front-runner. Husted’s rising stock comes after other names, including state Rep. Jay Edwards and former Ohio Republican Party Chair Jane Timken, emerged as possibilities in recent weeks. But according to the Republicans with knowledge of the deliberations, DeWine sees Husted as more capable of navigating a reelection campaign for Senate that could include a divided Republican primary and a contested general election, even as the state has shifted toward the GOP in recent years.