What Happens to J.D. Vance’s Ohio Senate Seat Now? How His Replacement Will Be Chosen When He Becomes VP

Colson Thayer

6 November 2024 at 6:08 am·2-min read

As J.D. Vance becomes the next vice president, Ohio’s Republican Gov. Mike DeWine will fill Vance’s vacant senate seat

PATRICK T. FALLON/AFP via Getty Vice President-Elect J.D. Vance speaks on the third day of the 2024 Republican National Convention in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. — PATRICK T. FALLON/AFP via Getty
Vice President-Elect J.D. Vance speaks on the third day of the 2024 Republican National Convention in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

Vice President-elect J.D. Vance is now set to take the country’s second-highest office in January. After the Republican leaves his Ohio Senate seat vacant, there is state protocol for how his successor will be chosen.

According to Ohio law, when a senate seat vacancy occurs, the sitting governor “may appoint some suitable person having the necessary qualifications for senator.”

This is good news for Republicans as Ohio’s Republican Gov. Mike DeWine is expected to pick another member of the GOP to succeed Vance.

DeWine's appointee will serve as interim senator until Dec. 15, 2026. Then, the winner of that year’s special election will fill the remainder of Vance’s term until 2028.

Some of the likely top contenders include Lt. Gov. John Husted, Attorney General Dave Yost, Secretary of State Frank LaRose and state Sen. Matt Dolan.

*Dylan Hollingsworth/Bloomberg via Getty Images Former Republican Presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy speaks during the Conservative Political Action Conference in Dallas*

Vivek Ramaswamy, who ran against Donald Trump in the 2024 Republican presidential primary, also expressed interest in the job.

“To be frank, I’d strongly consider it if I were asked to serve,” the Ohio Republican told NBC News during the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee in July. “But I would also want to have a serious conversation with President Trump about the other ways I can have an impact on the country.”

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Vance, 40, was first elected to the U.S. Senate in November 2022. He beat former U.S. Rep. Tim Ryan with 53% of the vote.

Before entering politics, the married father of three was a venture capitalist and rose to fame after writing his memoir, Hillbilly Elegy, which was later adapted into a 2020 Netflix film. The book detailed Vance’s life growing up in Middleton, Ohio.

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