Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine on Friday announced his lieutenant governor, Jon Husted, will replace Vice President-elect JD Vance in the U.S. Senate.
Husted, 57, will serve until a special election in November 2026, the winner of which will complete the remainder of Vance’s term.
Vance and President-elect Donald Trump will be sworn into office on Monday.
DeWine said that when he mulled over his appointment, he wanted “someone who knew Ohio” and a proven “workhorse.”
“Serious times demand serious people,” he said at the news conference.
DeWine praised Husted’s track record on economic development, which includes Intel’s commitment to invest more than $20 billion in manufacturing plants in the state.
“In my mind, my mission has always been clear: to ensure Ohioans have access to good jobs, quality job training and the opportunity to achieve their vision,” Husted said as he accepted the appointment on Friday.
DeWine, who was constitutionally mandated to make Ohio’s interim Senate appointment following Vance’s recent resignation, declared the news standing next to Hustead during a press conference Friday afternoon.
“I have worked with him. I have seen him. I know his knowledge of Ohio. I know his heart. I know what he cares about. I know his skills. And all of that tells me that he is the right person for this, for this job,” DeWine said.
Accepting the appointment, Husted said at the Friday press conference that he was ready to work with the incoming administration.
Husted said he was unsure of the timeline for his swearing-in due to some “logistical issues” but is in contact with Senate Majority Leader Thune, who has expressed that “sooner is better.”
Vance, who was a first-term senator after having won the seat during the 2022 midterms, had officially resigned from his position a week ago, on Jan. 10. A special election to fill the vacancy won’t come until the midterms in November 2026. Whoever wins that election will serve until the end of Vance’s term in 2028.
Sources familiar with DeWine’s thinking have told ABC News that his criteria for selecting Vance’s replacement included consideration of an individual’s political strength heading into the next election– namely, whether they could win the seat again in 2026 and 2028.
DeWine highlighted this sentiment at his press conference on Friday.
“The next person who goes to the U.S. Senate I knew would have to run and run and run. We’re used to six-year terms, but this person I knew would, after I appoint them, could only serve for two years. They would have to run for reelection or run for election, and then if they won, they would have to turn around and run again in two years, so it had to be someone who I knew, frankly, who had their skill sets, but also the determination.”
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