The search for Vice President-elect JD Vance’s successor in the Senate is reinforcing a rift among Ohio Republicans, whose loyalties are divided between the establishment-friendly Gov. Mike DeWine and President-elect Donald Trump.
DeWine, who endorsed against a Trump-backed candidate this year in the race for Ohio’s other Senate seat, will appoint someone to fill Vance’s seat at least until a 2026 special election for the final two years of the term Vance won in 2022. Contenders already are lobbying him hard.
“His phone,” DeWine spokesperson Dan Tierney told NBC News, “has been ringing off the hook.”
DeWine has said he prefers to choose someone who can win a GOP primary in two years. And the person he selects will likely face a quick battery of loyalty tests with Trump, Vance and the voters who gave them a landslide victory in Ohio: tough confirmation fights for several of Trump’s expected Cabinet nominees.
For defense secretary, Trump wants Pete Hegseth, a former Fox News host who has said women shouldn’t serve in combat and who has been accused of, but never charged with, sexual assault. Trump also intends to nominate anti-vaccination activist Robert F. Kennedy Jr. as health and human services secretary and former Rep. Tulsi Gabbard of Hawaii, who has been accused of amplifying Russian propaganda, as director of national intelligence. And Trump had planned to nominate as attorney general former Rep. Matt Gaetz of Florida, who was investigated by the Justice Department, but not charged, in a case that involved allegations of sex trafficking. Gaetz withdrew from consideration Thursday afternoon.
Vance has consulted with DeWine on the Senate appointment, two sources familiar with the discussions said. He also accompanied Gaetz and Hegseth to their meetings with other senators this week while posting on social media that Trump’s win entitles him to “a cabinet that is loyal to the agenda he was elected to implement.”
Those close to Trump and Vance, meanwhile, are closely monitoring how Vance’s potential successors handle questions about Trump’s picks.
“We’re not expecting someone to be appointed who is as ideologically connected to President Trump’s agenda as JD was, but there is an expectation that whoever gets it is broadly supportive of his policies, and publicly supporting his Cabinet nominees should be a given for anyone who wants the job,” said a high-ranking Trump world operative, who was granted anonymity to share internal thinking.
Some of the prospects to replace Vance are being careful with what they say about Trump’s embattled picks — if they say anything at all. Of nine Republicans who are seeking or are being mentioned for the appointment, only four responded when asked if they support Gaetz, Gabbard, Hegseth and Kennedy. (Each of the Senate prospects who responded to questions did so before Gaetz withdrew from consideration for attorney general.)
“President-elect Trump deserves to have the people he wants in his Cabinet, and his nominations are fully in line with his promise to shake up Washington, which is why I support him,” state Treasurer Robert Sprague, who avoided making any explicit endorsements, said in a statement shared by a spokesperson. “Each of his nominees will undergo the deliberative scrutiny of the U.S. Senate confirmation process. In doing its constitutional confirmation duty, I believe a Senate confirmation ensures a cabinet worthy of the public trust.”
Another potential appointee, Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose, is “very supportive of the team being put together by [Trump and Vance] and excited about what they’ll be able to accomplish,” his spokesperson, Dan Lusheck, said.
Pressed further, Lusheck confirmed that LaRose would support the nominations of Gaetz, Gabbard, Hegseth and Kennedy.
Rep. Mike Carey, whose relationships with DeWine and Trump make him a top prospect, could be a tougher sell. Carey said in an interview last week with Spectrum News that Trump’s choice of Gaetz to lead the Justice Department “surprised him” and that he did not believe Gaetz would be confirmed.
“I just don’t see that happening,” Carey told Spectrum. (He did not respond to a request for comment for this article.)
Two lesser-known prospects offered enthusiastic and unequivocal endorsements.
“I’d proudly support ALL of President Trump’s nominees,” state Rep. Jay Edwards wrote in a text message. “Any Republican that would hesitate on this question misunderstood the mandate the people delivered on November 5.”
Mehek Cooke, an attorney who served in former Gov. John Kasich’s administration and worked on the campaign against a successful constitutional amendment to codify abortion rights in Ohio, pledged to “firmly support [Trump’s] bold Cabinet selections, chosen to serve the people — not political agendas.”
“Anyone, Republican or Democrat, who obstructs this vision has no place in Washington,” Cooke added.
Among those who did not respond to questions about Trump’s picks was Jane Timken, a Republican National Committee member and former state party chair who is viewed by many GOP operatives in the state as a leading candidate. Lt. Gov. Jon Husted — who has been preparing to run for governor when DeWine is term-limited in 2026 but has not ruled out accepting the Senate appointment — declined to comment.
DeWine is prepared to move quickly with an appointment, though Vance has not indicated when he will resign from the Senate. If possible, DeWine would like to have the pick seated before Jan. 3, when the next term begins, ensuring that Vance’s successor would have more seniority than freshman senators elected in November, Tierney, the governor’s spokesperson, said.
GOP operatives in Ohio have long speculated that DeWine could use the appointment to help clear the primary field for Husted’s bid for governor, perhaps by choosing Sprague, who has shown interest in that race, or state Attorney General Dave Yost.
But Yost, who this week posted a video teasing his imminent campaign for governor, does not want the appointment, a source close to him said. Another potential Husted rival in 2026, Vivek Ramaswamy, took himself out of the running for the Senate seat after Trump tapped him to lead a government efficiency project with billionaire Elon Musk.
A former senator himself, DeWine is prioritizing several qualities in his search for Vance’s successor, Tierney said. He wants someone who is serious about policy and legislating — not someone more focused on performative politics. He also prefers a candidate who could serve a long time, meaning that he’s not planning to appoint a “caretaker” who would agree not to run for the seat in the 2026 special election.
When asked if Trump’s Cabinet picks were a part of DeWine’s considerations, Tierney emphasized the governor’s wish that his pick be able to win the GOP primary that year.
“The governor wants his choice to be ratified by voters in a Republican primary, and the governor wants his choice to be ratified by voters in a general election — and then again in two years,” Tierney said.
That calculus could work against several of the hopefuls, including Timken, who finished a distant fifth behind Vance and others in a 2022 Senate primary; LaRose, who finished last in this year’s Senate primary; and state Sen. Matt Dolan, a losing candidate in both of those primaries.
DeWine endorsed Dolan in this year’s race, putting the governor at odds with Trump, who backed businessman Bernie Moreno. Moreno beat Dolan and LaRose easily and then went on to unseat Democratic Sen. Sherrod Brown.
Dolan, whose advisers did not respond to requests for comment, is seeking the appointment. But Republicans close to DeWine are skeptical that the governor would appoint someone voters have already rejected in a previous race, even after DeWine’s endorsement.
Moreno, for his part, singled out Gaetz, Gabbard, Hegseth and Kennedy this week in a statement pledging to support Trump’s Cabinet choices.
“The American people delivered President Trump a mandate, and it is crucial that Senate Republicans confirm his nominees quickly,” he said. “Our Republican majority must unite and deliver a strong cabinet so we can begin implementing the America-First agenda as soon as possible.”
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