Clear Frontrunner Emerges To Replace JD Vance’s Ohio Senate Seat

A clear frontrunner has emerged in the battle to replace JD Vance’s Ohio Senate Seat.

Vance will be resigning his Senate seat tomorrow, paving the way for Gov. Mike DeWine to appoint his replacement:

The move clears the way for Gov. Mike DeWine to appoint Vance's successor in Ohio, where Lt. Gov. Jon Husted, a fellow Republican is considering whether to take the job. https://t.co/aBtPpWX7IL

— NBC Politics (@NBCPolitics) January 9, 2025

From CNBC:

Vice President-elect JD Vance will resign his Senate seat at midnight Thursday, clearing the way for his swearing-in alongside President-elect Donald Trump on Jan. 20.

Vance, R-Ohio, notified Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine, who will choose his successor, of his plans in a letter Thursday afternoon.

“To the people of Ohio, I extend my heartfelt gratitude for the privilege of representing you in the United States Senate,” Vance, who has served in the chamber for two years, said in a statement shared first with NBC News. “When I was elected to this office, I promised to never forget where I came from, and I’ve made sure to live by that promise every single day.”

Vance added that voters had issued “an undeniable mandate to put America first, both at home and abroad,” and pledged to work with Trump to “enact his agenda” over the next four years.

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Vance, the author of “Hillbilly Elegy” and former venture capitalist, emerged as a political player in Ohio three years ago when Sen. Rob Portman, a Republican, announced his retirement. Vance entered a crowded GOP primary filled with better-known and better-funded candidates but rode a Trump endorsement to victory.

Now, at 40, he will be the third-youngest vice president in history — behind John Breckinridge (36 years old upon taking office in 1857) and Richard Nixon (40 years and 11 days in 1953).

Lt. Governor Jon Husted is currently the favorite to replace Vance, sitting at 78% in the polls:

.@Polymarket – Who will replace JD Vance as Ohio Senator?

Jon Husted – 78%
Jane Timken – 14%
Frank LaRose – 2%
Matt Dolan – 1%
V. Ramaswamy – 0.6%https://t.co/gbQeWp1K2S https://t.co/jxlMM7M4Vx pic.twitter.com/R0F6b6bKeR

— InteractivePolls (@IAPolls2022) January 7, 2025

Polymarket currently has him at 71% and as we saw in the Election, the big money on Polymarket is not often wrong:

Local News5 in Cleveland reported that DeWine and Husted visited Mar-a-Lago last month:

Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine and Lt. Gov. Jon Husted visited Mar-a-Lago to meet with President-elect Donald Trump and VP-elect JD Vance ahead of the governor making an appointment to the U.S. Senate.

It’s one of the most important decisions DeWine has to make soon.

“I continue to interview people in regard to their interest in going to the United States Senate,” DeWine told reporters Friday.

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Current Ohio Senator JD Vance will need to resign by inauguration day, opening up his coveted seat.

Previously, the governor said he wants someone who can win not just the primary and general elections of 2026 but can hold onto the seat in 2028.

“This has to be someone who really wants to do the job and do the work and who we think has the ability to do it,” he said, adding that the Senate appointment would also be able to stay in the seat for a long time.

He would consider appointing someone who has no political experience.

The person needs to also care about their role, he continued.

“It takes someone who really will focus on the state of Ohio, will focus on national issues — someone who will really work hard…” DeWine said after the Nov. election. “This is not for the faint-hearted, this is not for someone who just wants to get a seat.”

At a breakfast the governor hosted for journalists earlier this month, he added a new consideration.

“You particularly make a difference when the numbers are going to be, I guess, 53-47,” DeWine said. “Every vote matters.”

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When asked if the razor-thin majority in the U.S. House of Representatives would play a role in his decision, he said it was “a factor” in his decision.

“It’s a reality,” the governor said. “It’s where we are today after the president took a few.”

This means he will likely not appoint a sitting member of Congress.