Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine announces Lt. Gov. Jon Husted will take JD Vance’s Senate seat

During a press conference on Friday afternoon, Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine (R) announced that his Lt. Gov. Jon Husted (R) will be appointed to replace Sen. JD Vance in the U.S. Senate. 

Vance will be sworn in as the vice president of the United States alongside President-elect Donald Trump on Monday. Husted will be immediately sworn in to serve until January 2027; a special election will be held in November 2026 to fill out the remaining two years of Vance’s term. Husted said that he accepted the nomination with the full expectation that he will run in 2026.

Husted says accepted the Senate appointment with the full intention to run in 2026’s special election. pic.twitter.com/mRnweklJMZ

— Heartland Signal (@HeartlandSignal) January 17, 2025

Before becoming DeWine’s running mate and eventual lieutenant governor in 2019, Husted served as Ohio’s secretary of state (2011-19), a state senator (2009-11) and as a state representative, serving as the chamber’s speaker from 2005-09. 

Last June, new texts revealed that Husted was allegedly a leading proponent of House Bill 6, an infamous piece of legislation at the center of FirstEnergy’s bribery scandal. FirstEnergy spent $61 million to bribe Ohio lawmakers — including then-House Speaker Larry Householder — to bail out the energy company to the tune of $1.3 billion in taxpayer funds. Householder was sentenced to 20 years in prison after a jury found him guilty of racketeering charges. 

Husted also received a $1 million dark money donation from FirstEnergy during his 2017 primary bid for governor.  

While serving as secretary of state, Husted also turned a blind eye to voter suppression tactics, helped the GOP gerrymander legislative maps and purged thousands from voter rolls.