CLEVELAND – Ohio Lt. Gov. Jon Husted has emerged as a late and high-profile contender to succeed Vice President-elect JD Vance in the Senate, three Republicans familiar with the process said Friday.
Gov. Mike DeWine will name a replacement once Vance relinquishes his Senate seat, something that must happen before Vance and President-elect Donald Trump take office on Jan. 20.
What remains unclear is whether Husted would accept an appointment, which would go through a special election in 2026 to fill the remaining two years of Vance’s term. But some GOP insiders believe the job is Husted’s if he wants it.
“If Husted wants to serve this way, he will be there,” said a person familiar with the discussions.
Husted, 57, has long had ambitions of being governor and did not run for the Senate in previous elections. He has also been aggressively preparing a campaign to succeed the term-limited DeWine in two years.
“Nothing to share on the subject,” Husted responded via text message to NBC News when asked specifically about the Senate seat and his conversations with Trump about his political future.
Two people briefed on those conversations said DeWine and Husted met with Trump last month at the president-elect’s Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida. Husted, one of the sources said, was eager to get Trump’s endorsement in what is expected to be a crowded Republican gubernatorial primary.
Such a development would serve as a preemptive strike against businessman Vivek Ramaswamy, the former Republican presidential candidate whom Trump tapped to lead a task force on government efficiency alongside billionaire Elon Musk.
Ramaswamy, who lives in Ohio, is widely considered there as a future candidate for state office. Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost and state Treasurer Robert Sprague are among the other Republican candidates for governor in 2016, and neither has indicated that a Husted candidacy would affect their plans.
The two people briefed on the Mar-a-Lago meeting, which was first reported by WEWS Channel 5, the ABC affiliate in Cleveland, said the appointment was also discussed in the Senate, but that Trump made no commitment. with Husted. DeWine has said he wants his pick for Vance’s Senate seat to be someone who can win a competitive primary, a dynamic that makes Trump’s blessing key.
Dan Tierney, a spokesman for DeWine’s office, confirmed to NBC News that DeWine visited Mar-a-Lago last month, but declined to share details of the governor’s agenda while he was there. Tierney also did not comment on Husted’s chances of being appointed to the Senate.
In addition to Husted, former state GOP chair Jane Timken and state Rep. Jay Edwards are among the Republicans DeWine is seriously considering for Vance’s job, two sources familiar with the discussions said. Democratic Sen. Sherrod Brown, who lost his seat last fall, has not ruled out running for that seat in next year’s special election.
DeWine and Husted have been close allies since they ran together in 2018. Husted also had plans to seek the governorship that year, but agreed to join DeWine’s ticket as a candidate for lieutenant governor. Husted has also been close to Ramaswamy, who informally advised him during the pandemic and served on the board of directors of the InnovateOhio agency run by Husted.
But DeWine’s political capital in Trump’s world is little. Last year, the governor endorsed Trump-backed Bernie Moreno in the primary for Ohio’s other Senate seat. Trump and his allies branded DeWine a Republican in name only, or RINO.
Moreno easily won the primary and then unseated Brown. He took office on Friday.
