Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine remains tight-lipped about who is considering to fill the soon-to-be-vacant Ohio U.S. Senate seat.
DeWine told reporters Thursday morning he doesn’t know yet who is going to pick to replace Ohio Sen. J.D. Vance when he becomes vice president. Vance will be inaugurated on Jan. 20 and has yet to announce when he will resign from the Senate.
“I’ve interviewed a number of people, I’ve talked to a number of people,” DeWine said. “A lot of people want to be senator, quite an amazing number. People have had some contact with us about that, a lot of people have opinions around the state. We’re in the process of reaching a decision and we will have it by the time J.D. Vance resigns.”
DeWine said he has spoken to President-elect Donald Trump and Vance about the Senate seat, but said he was not going to divulge information about their conversations.
Both of Ohio’s senators will be new to the U.S. Senate with Republican political newcomer Bernie Moreno ousting Sen. Sherrod Brown during last month’s election. Whoever DeWine appoints must run in the 2026 special election if they want to maintain their Senate seat, something he is taking into consideration.
“Who I appoint has to be able to, in less than two years, win a primary and then win a general election and then come back two years later and win a primary general election,” DeWine said. “So it has to be someone who I believe will win a primary and then win a general election.”
Some people are speculating if Brown is eyeing the Ohio U.S. Senate seat in 2026.
DeWine, who served as a U.S. Senator from 1995 to 2007, said he is looking for someone who can advocate for Ohio.
“Every senator can have a big influence in many ways, but one way certainly is advocating for their state,” he said. “… It is a major criteria, someone who gets Ohio, who gets us.”
Even though DeWine is keeping his list of potential candidates close to the vest, there are several potential names that have been floating around including state Sen. Matt Dolan, Lt. Gov. Jon Husted, U.S. Rep. Mike Carey, Republican National Committee Committeewoman for Ohio Jane Timken and Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose, among others.
Republicans recently secured a slim majority in the U.S. House, a factor DeWine said he is considering when it comes to making a decision which not might bode well for Carey.
“It’s a reality of where we are today after the president took a few,” DeWine said.
Two prominent Ohio Republicans who were initially thought of as a potential Senate pick won’t get the job.
Former Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy was originally considered a potential Senate pick, but Trump tapped him and billionaire Elon Musk to help lead his new Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), a nongovernmental task force designed to find ways to fire federal workers, eliminate programs and gut federal regulations.
Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost has publicly said he is running for governor in 2026, even recently posting a video on the social media platform X hinting at his campaign for governor.
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