Gov. Mike DeWine expected to choose Jon Husted for U.S. Senate

Gov. Mike DeWine is expected to choose Lt. Gov. Jon Husted to fill a vacant seat representing Ohio in the U.S. Senate, four sources told Signal Statewide.

DeWine announced he would hold a news conference at 1 p.m. in Columbus. A media advisory issued Friday morning did not agree on the subject. A spokesperson said he did not know what the governor would announce.

But multiple Republican sources told Signal that DeWine would announce he was choosing Husted after months of deliberations. The development constitutes an about-face for Husted, who has long planned to run for governor in 2026 to succeed DeWine, who cannot run again due to term limits. But a source said the move reflects concerns that Husted will struggle to win a Republican primary for governor in 2026. The race is also expected to feature Vivek Ramaswamy, a Columbus-area billionaire turned political figure well known to the media following an unsuccessful campaign for president in 2024.

The seat was previously held by JD Vance, a Cincinnati Republican elected to the Senate in November 2022. But Vance resigned after being elected last November as vice president. Under Ohio law, DeWine has the authority to choose Vance’s replacement, but that person will have to run to retain the seat in 2026 and then again in 2028 when the term expires. The development will mean Ohio will have two first-time U.S. senators after Husted joins Sen. Bernie Moreno, who defeated Democratic Sen. Sherrod Brown in November.

Vance resigned on January 9 to prepare for his new job. DeWine said the same day that he would announce the pick sometime next week. But anticipation has built in political circles over time without an announcement from DeWine, particularly because DeWine began thinking about who he would choose to replace Vance last July, when President-elect Donald Trump announced that Vance would be his running mate at the Republican National Convention.

DeWine held a press briefing Thursday to announce the construction of a major new factory, but he remained tight-lipped about the Senate race except to confirm that he had recently met with Ramaswamy. The development suggested that Ramaswamy was in the running for the Senate nomination, which could have paved the way for Husted to run for governor, and temporarily disrupt the conventional wisdom that has formed recently that Husted was the choice likely from DeWine.

“Later,” DeWine said Thursday when asked by reporters when he would make his decision. Asked for more information, he replied: “Not too long later.” »

Ramaswamy’s emergence undermines DeWine’s succession plan

DeWine’s deliberate pace goes back to positioning for 2026 and would reflect Husted’s reluctance to take the job.

Husted has long planned to run for governor and is generally considered more interested in state office than federal office. Husted ran for governor before the 2018 election, but decided to drop out and become DeWine’s running mate. The decision is understood to come with a tacit promise from DeWine to help Husted win the seat in 2026.

When DeWine won the election, he helped Husted polish his political resume by giving him high-level roles in government modernization and focusing on economic development. Lieutenant governors otherwise have few formal responsibilities under state law. DeWine has also made clear more recently that he wants Husted to succeed him, and Husted announced he was running for governor last year.

But Husted became more receptive to the idea of ​​accepting the Senate nomination as it became clearer that Ramaswamy was also preparing to run for or become governor in 2026. Ramaswamy currently co-directs the Department of Government Effectiveness , a non-governmental advisory group that will aim to recommend ways to reduce the federal budget, alongside megabillionaire Elon Musk.

Husted, 57, is a longtime elected official in Ohio. He began his political career in 2000, when he was elected to the Ohio House of Representatives. He became Speaker of the Ohio House in 2005. In 2009, he was elected to the Ohio Senate, and in 2014, he was elected Ohio Secretary of State. He held this position until he was elected lieutenant governor in 2018.