One of the leading candidates to fill Vice President-elect J.D. Vance’s seat in the U.S. Senate recently travelled to President-elect Donald Trump’s Mar-A-Lago estate as a decision looms.
Under Ohio law, Republican Governor Mike DeWine will be tasked with selecting a replacement for Vance until 2026. At that point, a special election will be held to determine who will serve out the remainder of Vance’s term, which ends in 2028. The winner of the special election will then have to run again in 2028 in order to secure a full, six-year term.
DeWine is widely expected to be making his decision within the coming weeks, as the new Congress is set to be sworn in on January 3.
Earlier this week, DeWine traveled to Trump’s Palm Beach residence with Republican Lieutenant Governor Jon Husted, who is believed to be a top candidate to replace Vance, according to a report from News 5 Cleveland.
Dan Tierney, a spokesman for the governor’s office, told Fox News that DeWine is looking for a “workhorse” who is “qualified and ready to earn the trust of Ohio voters for another term.”
In addition to Husted, DeWine is reportedly considering Mehek Cooke, a Republican attorney