Who will replace JD Vance in the U.S. Senate? Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine mulling pick

Gov. Mike DeWine’s phone is blowing up with calls over Ohio’s soon-to-be vacant U.S. Senate seat, but he’s not giving away who’s in line for the job.

Sen. JD Vance won the vice presidency Tuesday, just two years after he was first elected to the Senate. Per state law, DeWine will appoint someone to serve with Sen.-elect Bernie Moreno until 2026. Voters will then elect someone to fill out the remaining two years of Vance’s term.

Moreno defeated longtime Democratic Sen. Sherrod Brown Tuesday, meaning Ohio will soon be represented by two brand new senators.

“It takes someone who really will focus on the state of Ohio, will focus on national issues, someone who will really work hard, someone who wants to get things done,” DeWine told reporters Thursday. “These are qualifications, I think, that are very important. It also has to be someone who could win a primary. It has to be someone who could win a general election, and then two years later, do all that again. So, this is not for the faint-hearted.”

DeWine’s appointee will assume the role when Vance resigns from his seat. A Vance spokesman did not respond to questions about his timeline, but new senators take the oath of office in early January.

Who might replace JD Vance in the Senate?

DeWine is expected to appoint a fellow Republican, but he declined to say with whom he’s spoken or who he’s considering. Among the names floating around are former Ohio Republican Party chair Jane Timken, Secretary of State Frank LaRose and state Sen. Matt Dolan, R-Chagrin Falls.

Speaking to reporters Thursday, Moreno said he wants to see someone who supports the GOP agenda and understands what it’s like to campaign across the state.

“This is the difference between inherited wealth and wealth that you had to build yourself,” Moreno said. “And I’m not a fan of inherited wealth people. They tend to be lazy. The person that had to work for it is person I want to see.”

Dolan and LaRose lost to Moreno in the March Republican Senate primary. An adviser for Dolan did not respond to a request for comment. In a statement, LaRose said he’s “always ready to answer the call of duty” but currently focused on certifying Tuesday’s election results.

One person appeared to rule out a Senate appointment: Attorney General Dave Yost, who is running for governor against Lt. Gov. Jon Husted.

“Look, I’m an executive,” Yost told reporters earlier this week. “I’ve never been a legislator, and I’m not ready to end my public service, but I can’t imagine going to Washington, D.C. and I would not accept that.”

DeWine said he’d be open to someone who, like Moreno, doesn’t have prior experience in office. One person in that vein is Vivek Ramaswamy, a Columbus-area entrepreneur and Cincinnati-area native who unsuccessfully ran for the GOP presidential nomination earlier this year.

Ramaswamy has also been rumored as a potential candidate for governor or appointee to President-elect Donald Trump’s cabinet. An asset management firm started by Ramaswamy is moving from Columbus to Dallas, but he said he’s no longer involved with the company and plans to stay in Ohio.

“Not everybody has the same skills,” Ramaswamy told reporters Thursday. “I’m an executive by background. That’s served me well as an entrepreneur, and those are skills that I’d like to put to use, and I want to reflect on the biggest and best possible way that we can use that skillset as an outsider to hopefully transform this country.”

Statehouse bureau reporters Jessie Balmert and Erin Glynn contributed.