How Ohio will choose a Senate replacement for Vice President-elect JD Vance

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.

"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.

Spokesperson for DeWine, Dan Tierny, said the governor is looking for two things in an appointment: first, someone who will work hard, and second, someone who will have the ability to run statewide and win a full term in 2028. Tierney compared DeWine's task making this appointment to the one he made two years ago of Ohio Supreme Court Justice Joe Deters; he pointed to that as a success, since Deters ran this year and was re-elected for a full term.

DeWine will be holding conversations with possible appointees and interested candidates the next two months. Tierney said DeWine said he is not considering himself for the position.

Possible appointees could include Senator-elect Bernie Moreno's two primary challengers, state Sen. Matt Dolan and Secretary of State Frank LaRose. Dolan's team did not get back to NBC4 with a comment.

In a statement, LaRose said “I’m always ready to answer the call of duty, but I’m also focused right now on doing the job Ohioans hired me to do."

LaRose went on to talk about the need to certify election results, a possible recount in a congressional race, and putting "pressure on the Biden administration to give us the federal citizenship records we need to ensure the accuracy of Ohio's voter rolls."

Overall, LaRose said "I know Governor DeWine has an important decision to make, and I’m confident he’ll do what’s in the best interest of Ohio."

Sources tell NBC4 another possible appointee who may be on DeWine's shortlist is former chair of the Ohio Republican Party and 2022 U.S. Senate candidate Jane Timken.

As far as the Speaker of the Ohio House Jason Stephens (R-Kitts Hill) and Senate President Matt Huffman (R-Lima) go, Stephens declined to comment on whether he has interest in the position, and a spokesperson for Huffman did not respond with an answer about whether he is interested.

Who does Moreno favor for the position? He said Vance is leaving some "big shoes to fill."

"JD is an amazing conservative, a great spokesperson for the Republican Party is somebody who I'm incredibly aligned with," Moreno said.

Moreno said he is looking for a few attributes in whoever is appointed.

"That's my partner in Washington, D.C. We want to be able to work together from little things like where our office locations are," Moreno said. "How do we work together in building a joint constituent services operation? How do we make certain that we're both working in tandem on the same kind of projects? For me, as you heard in my speech last night, one of the things that I wanted to do is make certain that we have a positive impact in a lot of communities."

Moreno said he trusts that DeWine will make the right choice for Ohio, and said while the decision is exclusively the governor's, he is hoping to provide some input.

"I have not put enormous amounts of effort into thinking about who that would be," Moreno said. "But I will, starting tomorrow, put enormous amount of effort into thinking who that should be."

NBC4 followed up with Husted on Wednesday, in a statement, a spokesperson said "Today is about celebrating a historic comeback by President Trump and Ohio’s new Senator, Bernie Moreno. I am sure Governor DeWine, President Trump and Vice President Vance will have a conversation, but today is about celebrating a great victory for Ohio and the America-First movement."

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 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.