Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine announced Friday that his state's lieutenant governor, Jon Husted, will fill the seat vacated by incoming Senate Vice President J.D. Vance for the next two years.
“I have come to the conclusion that the best person for the United States Senate is someone who has been close to me over the past six years, someone who I work with almost every day,” DeWine said. “That's Lieutenant Governor Jon Husted.”
He added that his choices require deep roots in the state, an understanding of “the interplay between the federal and state governments,” and, above all, “main power.”
“Serious times call for serious people,” DeWine said, adding that he “interviewed with a lot of people” and that the decision “took some time.”
After Vance resigned from the Senate last week, President-elect Donald Trump recently nominated Vivek Ramaswamy, co-chair of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), to the post, a person familiar with the earlier conversations told the Post. told.
“Vivek's basic plan remains to make a mark at DOGE and announce his candidacy for governor soon,” another person familiar with the billionaire's thinking added on Friday.
“We're looking for someone who really knows Ohio, someone who understands this state, someone who has experience and, frankly, someone who is a hard worker,” DeWine said last Thursday.
Mr. Ramaswamy, 39, who previously indicated he was not considered for the role, was born and raised in suburban Cincinnati but built his career in Silicon Valley.
Husted, 57, will serve as Ohio's junior senator in the Senate until a special election is held in 2026.
In 2020, President Trump asked DeWine to contest the primary after the first-term governor urged the 45th president to concede his election loss to Democratic opponent Joe Biden. .
Mr. DeWine, himself a former senator, worked with Mr. Biden, 82, in Congress for 12 years.
He won re-election in the 2022 gubernatorial election with an overwhelming victory.
“We wish President Trump the best of luck,” DeWine said in a speech Friday.
