DeWine nominates Lt. Gov. Jon Husted to fill J.D. Vance’s Senate seat

Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine on Friday nominated Lt. Gov. Jon Husted to fill the Senate seat vacated by Vice President-elect J.D. Vance, elevating a veteran Republican politician and ally who entered politics during the pre-Trump era.

“This is a very serious time in our history,” Mr. DeWine said, flanked by a beaming Mr. Husted at a news conference. “Serious times require serious people. »

In nominating Mr. Husted, Mr. DeWine ignored Vivek Ramaswamy, the former presidential candidate and pharmaceutical entrepreneur who led a government-shrinking initiative alongside Elon Musk and who had emerged as another possible choice in recent years. days.

Mr. Ramaswamy, who was nominated by President-elect Donald J. Trump to lead with Mr. Musk the so-called Department of Government Effectiveness, said in November that he was not interested in being considered for nomination to the Senate. But Mr. DeWine met with Mr. Ramaswamy last weekend, the governor confirmed.

The choice of Mr. Vance’s successor has important implications in Republican politics, including for the Trump White House, the U.S. Senate and the governorship of Ohio. Mr. Vance resigned his seat on Jan. 10, creating a vacancy for Mr. DeWine to fill.

Mr. Trump had become involved in the choice, meeting Mr. DeWine and Mr. Husted late last year at Mar-a-Lago, his Florida home and resort, according to reports from Ohio . In recent weeks, Mr. Trump had suggested to Mr. Ramaswamy that he might be a good candidate for the Senate seat, if offered, according to two people with knowledge of the conversation, first reported by the Washington Post.