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Current Ohio Lt. Gov. Jon Husted was chosen by Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine Friday afternoon to fill Vice President-elect J.D. Vance’s U.S. Senate seat. Credit: Joshua Gunter via TNS [Ohio Lt. Gov. Jon Husted at the 2024 State of the State address in Columbus. Sen. JD Vance is expected to leave his seat in the coming weeks to become vice president, creating an opening for a new Ohio U.S. Senator.]

Current Ohio Lt. Gov. Jon Husted was chosen by Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine Friday afternoon to fill Vice President-elect J.D. Vance’s U.S. Senate seat.

Husted, who has served as the 66th lieutenant governor of Ohio since 2019 and was Ohio’s 50th Secretary of State from 2011-2019, will hold the seat until Dec. 15, 2026, according to the Associated Press. A special election will be held in November 2026 for the last two years of Vance’s Senatorial term.  

Husted will serve alongside Sen. Bernie Moreno (R-OH), who defeated incumbent Sen. Sherrod Brown in a contentious Senate race by 50.6% of the vote when the election was called, per prior Lantern reporting. 

There is speculation the special election could be an opportunity for recently ousted Brown to make his way back to the Ohio and national political playing fields, according to the Associated Press.

Husted was previously positioned to run for Ohio governor in 2026 against Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost. According to the Associated Press, there is a chance Vivek Ramaswamy — former U.S. presidential candidate, popular Republican figurehead and entrepreneur — will be involved in the Ohio gubernatorial race.  

DeWine passed over Ramaswamy for the Congressional seat, according to the Associated Press.

Ramaswamy was picked Nov. 12, 2024, by President-elect Donald Trump to lead a new Department of Government Efficiency — which will not be a real government agency, but rather an outside advisory body— alongside Elon Musk, according to the Associated Press.