Ohio Lieutenant Governor Husted to replace Vance in Senate

Businessman Vivek Ramaswamy, the former Republican presidential candidate once seen as a potential replacement for Vance in the Senate, is planning to run for Ohio governor after DeWine’s term expires, according to a source familiar with his plans.

Ramaswamy has been picked by Trump to co-lead the proposed Department of Government Efficiency with Elon Musk and plans to continue that work, the source said.

Trump is returning to power in a Washington where his Republicans hold majorities in both chambers of Congress, including 219-215 in the House of Representatives.

Vance, who had served as US senator for Ohio since January 2023, resigned last week ahead of the inauguration. It is unclear when Husted will be sworn into the Senate. Trump also picked Senator Marco Rubio of Florida to serve as secretary of state, and Florida Governor Ron DeSantis picked state Attorney General Ashley Moody to replace Rubio if he is confirmed by the Senate.

Trump’s moves to pull some lawmakers for roles in his administration will briefly complicate the House Republican majority. He has tapped Representative Elise Stefanik as ambassador to the United Nations and Representative Michael Waltz as national security adviser.

Should Stefanik and Waltz be confirmed to those roles and resign from the House, their seats would remain vacant until special elections could be held to fill them in the spring, temporarily reducing Republicans’ House margin. DeWine’s pick will fill Vance’s seat until a November 2026 special election – overlapping with the midterm congressional elections – for the right to fill out the rest of the six-year term for a senator, which ends in January 2029.

Republicans could face a comeback attempt in 2026 from former Democratic Senator Sherrod Brown, who lost his reelection bid for Ohio’s other Senate seat Republican Senator Bernie Moreno in November but has not ruled out running again.

Vance was swept to victory in 2022, and Moreno in 2024, with endorsements from Trump.