Ohio Lieutenant Governor Jon Husted will become the state's next U.S. Senator.

Gov. Mike DeWine announces his successor Vice Chairman-Elect J.D. Vance Friday on the Senate floor. Vance resigned from the House of Representatives before taking office on January 10.

"Jon Husted has played a role in every major decision I've made as governor of Ohio over the past six years," DeWine said when announcing his decision in Columbus. around him. “It’s not shocking that Jon and I might disagree on some things. But even in the cases where he sees things differently, my decisions are informed and informed by his input. ”

Husted served as Ohio House speaker and secretary of state before briefly running against DeWine for governor. But then he became the running mate with DeWine in the state's 2018 gubernatorial election.

“My time in the state House has been great, but representing Ohio in the U.S. Senate has also been an amazing opportunity,” Husted said. “This is an adopted child who grew up on the road in Montpelier County, Ohio. Things a kid could never imagine. I know Ohio well and I will fight for Ohio as a U.S. Senator."

The appointment took more than two months, and a number of Republican leaders and public officials were considered on the list of possible candidates, including former Ohio Republican Party Chairman Jane Timken and biotech entrepreneur Vivek Llamas Wami.

DeWine said last month that Republicans' narrow majority in the U.S. House of Representatives was a factor in his decision, essentially ruling out Ohio Republicans.

Ohio's two U.S. senators are freshmen. Husted Republican Sen. Bernie Moreno was sworn in earlier this month after defeating three-term Democratic incumbent Sherrod Brown.

Husted has long been considered a possible candidate for the Senate seat, although he has filed paperwork to run for governor in 2026 and has already raised money for his campaign. DeWine confirmed that he and Husted visited Trump's Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida earlier this month.

ramaswamizen Posted on X In November, he withdrew from the race to join Elon Musk in leading the Department of Effectiveness in President-elect Trump's administration.

house The seat must be up for reelection in a special election next year.