COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) — JD Vance will have a new job come January, as vice president in Donald Trump’s second term, and it will create an opening for his current job as one of Ohio’s two U.S. senators.
The first step in finding a replacement will be for Vance to resign his position in the Senate, and then his successor will be chosen by Gov. Mike DeWine, a fellow Republican. DeWine has not publicly indicated who he might consider for the job.
Ohio election results 2024
“Well, we’ve got a few people interested,” DeWine said jokingly last week. “We’ll talk about that after the election.”
Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost has said he would not accept the appointment if selected. But the state’s Lt. Gov. Jon Husted did not give as clear an answer when asked whether he was seeking the position.
“That is something that we’ll talk about on Wednesday morning once we get a victory,” Husted said the week before the election.
DeWine has authority to choose Vance’s replacement under Section 3521.02 of the Ohio Revised Code. That rule applies when a Senate seats opens up due to resignation, death or any other reason. Vance will become vice president on Jan. 20, replacing Kamala Harris, the Democrat who lost to Trump.
“The only timeline would be is when the vice presidential candidate would be sworn in,” DeWine said. “Obviously, [Vance] will control that, because he will control when he resigns, what date he puts on his letter of resignation.”
In Ohio, an appointed Senator holds office until Dec. 15 after the first regular state election that takes place over 180 days after the vacancy opens up — or Nov. 3, 2026, in this case. That means the appointed senator would serve until Dec. 15, 2026, a date that Secretary of State Frank LaRose’s office confirmed in July.
That opens up a special election for Ohio to fill the vacancy on Election Day 2026, when Ohio will also choose its next governor, as DeWine will be ineligible for a third term, and many other top-level state offices will be up for grabs. Senate candidates will be nominated by their parties through the same process as regular state elections. That person would serve through January 2029.
Vance’s replacement will join Bernie Moreno in representing Ohio in the Senate. Moreno, a Cleveland businessman who has never held public office, unseated the three-term Democratic incumbent, Sherrod Brown, with 50% of the vote on Election Day, a day full of big wins for state Republicans.
Vance was elected to the Senate in 2022 with 53% of the vote over Tim Ryan, a former U.S. House member. He replaced Rob Portman, a Republican who held the seat from 2011 to 2023.
