Vance's Senate Seat Won't Go to Ramaswamy

Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine is staying in-house to fill the Senate seat vacated by Vice President-elect JD Vance, choosing Lt. Gov. Jon Husted over Trump ally Vivek Ramaswamy. Husted has a deep officeholding resume in Ohio, having also been a state representative, senator, House speaker, and secretary of state, the Washington Post reports. In making the announcement Friday, DeWine said he decided "that the person who is best suited to be the United States senator is a person who has been close to me for the last six years, a person who, almost daily I work with."

Ramaswamy launched a last-minute lobbying campaign for the job, per Politico, apparently with President-elect Trump's encouragement. The billionaire from the Columbus area would appear to be otherwise occupied: President-elect Trump has named him to head of his Department of Government Efficiency, along with Elon Musk. DeWine and Husted went to Mar-a-Lago to confer with Trump and Vance about the Senate opening last month, per the Ohio Capitol Journal. DeWine said he informed Trump of his decision on Friday morning and described the president-elect as gracious about it.

The decision upended Husted's plans, as well. He had planned to run to succeed DeWine as governor; their ticket was reelected in 2022. Husted said Friday he now intends to run for the Senate seat instead in a 2026 special election. "This decision was not made lightly," Husted said, per NBC News. "My family and I listened to the advice of so many people, including the governor and so many others." Husted added, "I will do all I can to help" Trump and Vance. (More Ohio stories.)