Who Will Replace J.D. Vance as Ohio’s Senator? Here’s 5 Possibilities

The elections may be over, but plenty of states are hanging “Vacancy” signs out front. As Donald Trump poaches more and more Republicans to fill key seats in his administration, there’s a significant vacuum starting to take shape in states from red Florida to blue New York. One of the biggest, people would argue, is the successor to America’s vice president-elect, Senator J.D. Vance (R-Ohio). Complicating matters, at least for conservatives, is that the decision is in the hands of Governor Mike DeWine, who hasn’t been a fan favorite since his shocking embrace of the trans agenda. Can voters trust his judgment this time around? My fellow Buckeyes certainly hope so.

One thing the state has going for it, conservative leader Aaron Baer told The Washington Stand, is that “Ohio has spoken pretty loud and clear these last couple of elections that we want candidates [who] are going to be pro-life. Both J.D. Vance and [newly elected Senator] Bernie Moreno (R-Ohio) ran on strong pro-life positions that [would] stand up to the establishment.” As Baer, who presides over the Center for Christian Virtue, emphasized, “The status quo has not served Ohio well. You’ve had politicians like [outgoing Democratic Senator] Sherrod Brown give lip service to fighting for our families and communities — but act a completely different way in Washington, D.C.”

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But, as Baer insisted, Ohioans also need a senator who’s “going to stand up against the woke forces that be — someone who’s not going to go to Washington and support crazy bills like the Equality Act.” The last several primaries have been a cautionary tale for men and women who think voters will accept more social liberalism on things like life and gender. “We really saw more moderate candidates try to jump into these last few primaries here, and they’ve gotten just absolutely destroyed. … And so, I do think Governor DeWine is mindful [that] whoever he appoints in this position has got to be somebody who cannot just win a general campaign, but also win a primary. So if he tries to put a more left-of-center Republican in there, they’re likely not going to survive…”

Whoever DeWine appoints will have the unenviable task of competing — not only in a special election in two years — but again in 2028 when the vice president-elect’s original term ends. It’s essentially a House campaign cycle for a senator.

So far, the media’s zeroed in on a handful of names — some who are relative newcomers and others who’ve put in the years to climb the GOP ranks. They include men and women like:

• Ohio State Senator Matt Dolan, who served in the statehouse for more than a decade before becoming a state senator in 2017. Dolan lost to Moreno in the primary despite being endorsed by DeWine. He upset conservatives by sponsoring the state version of the Equality Act, an extreme LGBT bill that would strip away protections for free speech, religious liberty, privacy, girls’ sports, and conscience rights for anyone with moral objections to same-sex marriage or transgenderism.
• Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose, another young face who was endorsed by Trump during his 2022 reelection campaign. He also ran against Moreno and lost the nomination. As he said when his name surfaced, “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. … We delivered another secure, accurate, and accessible election for Ohio voters — and that work continues. … 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.”
• Lieutenant Governor Jon Husted is DeWine’s second-in-command “and has worked closely with him since 2018. He even dropped out of the 2018 gubernatorial election to join DeWine’s ticket as his running mate,” Fox explains. Before joining the governor’s team, he served in the Ohio statehouse and senate.
• Attorney General Dave Yost, who may plan to run for governor in two years, has been a conservative stalwart with a record of challenging the Biden-Harris administration’s overreach at every turn. “I’m one of his staunchest advocates and partners,” FRC’s Ken Blackwell told The Washington Stand. “He’s is the real deal, but if he wants to be [the] chief executive of Ohio, then he will take a pass on it.”
• Jane Timken was the Republican Party chair for Ohio for 2017-2021. She quit that job to run against Vance in the primary, unsuccessfully. “She ran on an explicitly pro-Trump platform, to the point where she criticized former governor and moderate John Kasich, [whom] she had previously supported. ‘She’s a good compromise between MAGA and DeWine in my opinion,’ a Republican insider working closely on Ohio’s senatorial transitions told The New York Post.”

Other Republicans who’ve been floated include Reps. Warren Davidson (R) and Mike Carey (R), who scored a 96% and 92%, respectively, on FRC Action’s scorecard for the 118th Congress. And while some insiders are suggesting it will be “Trump’s call,” in the final analysis, Blackwell told TWS, “it’s the governor’s call.” And, as the former Ohio secretary of state pointed out, whoever it is will need to commit to the long haul.

DeWine staked out that position back in July, telling Newsmax, “It has to be someone who can raise money to run in a primary in 2026 and the special election, and then swing right into the election in 2028.”

Turning to Husted, Blackwell explained, “Those are the things that will be going through Mike’s consideration. But it all starts with [whether DeWine is] indebted to and through their partnership to Jon, and if Jon really wants it. … And then it gets down to the McConnell-ites verses MAGA-ites,” he joked of the Establishment and grassroots feud.

As for the timing, no one really knows. Vance is expected to resign before he’s sworn in next January, which would set the wheels in motion for the formal appointment process. Asked who he would pick, the third-youngest VP in American history demurred. “I’m way too superstitious to think about those things.” The Senate’s newest Buckeye, Moreno, also deflected, telling the media, “That sounds like a problem for January 21. That’s not for today.”

But for all of the coyness, Vance has reportedly met with DeWine since the election and undoubtedly put in his two cents. “Vance is said to be strongly opposing state Sen. Matt Dolan,” Newsmax notes. “According to sources, Vance made it clear at the meeting that he wanted no RINOs or moderates, and if they were appointed, he would oppose their reelection in 2026.”

That jives with what Baer and other state leaders expect. “Governor DeWine is mindful that it’s got to be somebody that President Trump and Senator Vance would respect. I think for some voters there’s some concern, because you look at who Mike DeWine endorsed in the primary against Moreno — Matt Dolan, who sponsored the Ohio version of the Equality Act. … But I frankly don’t think that’s what you’ll see. I think you’ll see somebody who’s got a strong record on families. … And don’t get me wrong, Senator Dolan has been good on other issues like school choice, but [his LGBT activism] is very concerning.”

After the betrayal on the SAFE Act and girls’ sports, the big question on most people’s minds is whether the governor can be trusted. “In a vacuum, I would be really concerned,” Baer agreed. “And I think folks are making their voices heard that somebody like that wouldn’t be acceptable. That’s important, and we need to stay engaged on this seat. But at the same time, too, I think Governor DeWine is politically shrewd enough to know that if he put up a moderate candidate, they wouldn’t win reelection, and they would probably get primaried. So it would be an unwise choice to put somebody in there who would very clearly get rejected and in short order.”

Of course, one of the biggest takeaways from the 2024 election is Ohio’s status as a solidly red state. Gone are the days of Bush v. Gore, where Florida and the Buckeyes were considered toss-ups who would swing the election one way or another. It’s been an incredible development, Baer stressed, and it’s really only happened over the last eight years. “It’s a little bit different than what’s happened in Florida. … I think some of what you’ve seen happen in Florida is due to a lot of conservatives saying, ‘We’re moving to this land of freedom,’ … whereas Ohio has fundamentally changed, but that has more to do with where I’m from in Warren, Ohio, the Steel Valley.”

For decades and decades, that swath of Ohio in the Mahoning Valley voted Democratic. Baer talked about the closure of the major factory, Lordstown GM, and what a devastating impact it had on the community. “Sherrod Brown and folks like Tim Ryan gave lip service to keeping Lordstown GM. And what happened? Lordstown GM is gone. … And then [they] also insulted us for wanting to protect our families — not wanting this crazy indoctrination on our kids and not wanting boys and girls’ sports. And so, in Ohio, it’s not just a rejection of the hard-core Left Democrats but also of a lot of the Establishment Republicans that are no longer in office.”

It comes down to the same storyline Americans have seen all across the heartland: “Trump really did remake the [party].” Frankly, Baer pointed out, “The idea that J.D. Vance would be the senator from Ohio 20 years ago would seem impossible, because he is everything the Establishment hates. He thinks for himself. He fights for families. He doesn’t care about what color jersey you wear. He cares about getting things done for kids and for families and for jobs. And he’s cut his own path here, and he is the most pro-life senator Ohio’s ever had. And so, there has been a remaking of the party of the state, and it’s going to bode well for Ohio for years to come.”

LifeNews Note: Suzanne Bowdey serves as editorial director and senior writer at The Washington Stand, where this originally appeared.

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