Ohio Lt. Gov. Jon Husted expected to fill Vance's Senate seat

washington — Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine is expected to appoint Lt. Gov. Jon Husted to fill the Senate seat being vacated by Vice President-elect J.D. Vance, multiple sources told CBS News.

DeWine is expected to announce his selection at a news conference Friday at 1 p.m.

The announcement would end months of speculation and battles over Vance's two-year-old seat. DeWine, a former U.S. senator, has been tight-lipped about who might replace Vance in the Senate.

DeWine and other Republican governors met with President-elect Donald Trump at his Mar-a-Lago resort earlier this month.

The senior U.S. senator from Ohio is now a senator. Bernie MorenoJust became a senator earlier this month.

Husted, 57, has served as Ohio's lieutenant governor since 2019. He also served as Ohio secretary of state and had been considering a run for governor in 2026 to replace the term-limited DeWine.

Ohio Lieutenant Governor Jon Husted speaks at the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, July 15, 2024. Jacek Boczarski/Anadolu Photo: Getty Images

Wealthy Trump ally and former presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy has also been considered a possibility for the job. Trump tapped him to co-lead the Department of Government Effectiveness, a new advisory agency designed to address federal spending and waste. Ramaswamy has remained largely silent after a backlash in December after he criticized American culture on social media for promoting "mediocrity" and appeared to suggest Americans were lazy.

"There are more and more movies like Cracker and fewer Friends reruns," Ramaswamy, 39, complained on X in December. "More math tutoring, less sleepovers. More weekend science fairs, less Saturday morning cartoons. More books, less TV. More creativity, less 'chilling out.' More extracurricular activities, less ‘bum shopping’.”

But it didn't go well, with many other Trump allies and supporters criticizing Ramaswamy's remarks.

In Ohio, the governor appoints senators to fill vacancies in the U.S. Senate until the next regularly scheduled election. In that case, a special election would be held in November 2026, with the winner remaining in office until Vance's term expires. He could have run for re-election in 2028.

For the House seats, the governor requested a special election. Ohio has not had to fill a U.S. Senate vacancy since 1974.

Ed O'Keefe

Ed O'Keefe is CBS News' senior White House political correspondent. He previously worked at The Washington Post, covering presidential campaigns, Congress and federal agencies. His main focus is President Biden, Vice President Harris and political issues across the country.