Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine announced on Friday that he has selected Lt. Jon Husted (R), the Republican nominee to fill the Senate seat left vacant by Vice President-elect JD Vance, announced his selection on Friday.
DeWine announced the news at a press event at 1 pm EST on Friday. Vivek Ramaswamy is the former presidential nominee and incoming co-leader of President-elect Trump’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). DeWine met with Ramaswamy last weekend to discuss the position, and Trump was reported to have encouraged Ramaswamy’s candidacy.
DeWine chose Husted instead, who had a long career in Ohio politics. Husted has served as lieutenant governor under DeWine’s leadership since 2019. He served as Ohio’s state senator and House of Representatives and was secretary of state for Ohio for eight years.
Husted was confirmed by a long-time Republican operative.
Husted’s possible Senate ambitions for 2022 were a subject of speculation. He would be replacing the retiring Senator. Rob Portman, R-Ohio) but decided to run for reelection instead as Lieutenant Governor. Vance held that seat until last week when he announced his resignation.
Husted will hold the position at least for the next two to three years. However, he will have to run in special elections in 2026 to complete the remainder of Vance’s term. He would be eligible to run for another full term in 2028 if he won.
The special election in Ohio has already sparked speculation about possible candidates. One of them is former Senator Sherrod BROWN (D-Ohio), a Democrat who lost the other Senate seat to Sen. Bernie Moreno, a Republican. Brown, who previously represented the Buckeye State in the Senate for three terms, has stated that he would not rule out running.
Ramaswamy will co-lead DOGE with Elon Musk and make recommendations for cutting a staggering $2 trillion of government spending. He expressed an interest in running for governor after DeWine’s two-term term ends in 2026.
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