Two people familiar with the decision told NBC News that Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine is likely to choose his lieutenant governor, Jon Husted, to fill the Senate seat that Vice President-elect JD Vance recently resigned.
According to the sources, who asked to remain anonymous to talk about private conversations, the reveal will happen at a news conference that DeWine has called for Friday at 1 p.m. at the Ohio Statehouse in Columbus.
A DeWine spokeswoman wouldn’t say anything about what was planned for the news conference. A spokesperson for Husted did not answer a call for comment.
Husted had recently become one of the top candidates. He would serve at least until a special election in 2026 to fill the last two years of Vance’s term. DeWine had said that one of his main goals was to choose someone who could win the Republican primary next year.
The choice was made after Vance quit and after DeWine and Husted met with President-elect Trump at his Florida resort Mar-a-Lago back in November.
Two people who were present at the meeting told NBC News that Husted’s desire to take over as governor after DeWine in 2026 and the chance that Trump would support Husted were discussed. These people say that Trump did not promise Husted anything about that race or the Senate opening.
Vivek Ramaswamy, a biotech businessman from the Columbus area who is close to Trump and pushed for Husted’s election late at night.
Ramaswamy dropped out of the race for the job last fall when he agreed to lead the Department of Government Efficiency under the new Trump government. Not long ago, though, he changed his mind and talked to DeWine about the position.
Former state GOP chair Jane Timken, state Treasurer Robert Sprague, Rep. Mike Carey, and former state Rep. Jay Edwards were also in the running to replace Vance.
Signal Ohio was the first to report that DeWine had chosen Husted.
There is a lot of power for Trump in Ohio, where he has won three elections by large scores. In last year’s GOP primary for the state’s other Senate seat, he backed a state lawmaker that most Trump supporters hated over a businessman backed by Trump. DeWine, on the other hand, chose Bernie Moreno.
Moreno easily beat the Democratic Sen. Sherrod Brown in the general election. Brown has not ruled out running in next year’s special election for Vance’s old post.
Since they ran for office together in 2018, DeWine and Husted have been friends. Husted was also going to run for governor that year, but he decided to run as DeWine’s lieutenant governor instead.
Even though they are close, Husted, 57, has tried to find his way in the party. He backed Trump for president in 2024 just hours before the Iowa caucuses last year, and he is friends with Ramaswamy.
Ramaswamy’s possible interest in the 2026 race for governor and Trump’s reluctance to give Husted an early endorsement probably played a role in Husted’s decision about whether to accept DeWine’s Senate position. Other well-known Republicans, like Sprague and Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost, have also been planning to run for governor, which could make the race even more competitive.
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