Ohio Lt. Gov. Jon Husted, Trump meet in Mar-a-Lago as Vance Senate replacement mulled

Now that JD Vance is officially America's next vice president, a new political figure will have the opportunity to step into the role that Vance is leaving behind in the state of Ohio.

According to state law, Republican Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine must appoint a Republican to fill Vance's Senate seat until a special election is held in November 2026 that will determine who will serve until 2028, when Vance's term is scheduled to end.

The winner of that election will then be allowed to choose to run again for a new six-year term.

Republican Lt. Gov. Jon Husted recently visited with Donald Trump at Mar-a-Lago, leading to speculation that Husted is the favorite to fill the position.

Trump doesn't waste his time with unimportant people, so there's a very good chance he sees something in Husted.

One other candidate who appears to still have a chance is Rep. Mike Carey, who has been endorsed by Trump on three separate occasions.

Carey said that Trump "needs somebody in the Senate that will make sure that we get his agenda through."

"I think you need to have somebody that's able to start on Day One, hit the ground running as a U.S. senator," Carey added. "You don't want to have somebody coming in from the great state of Ohio who has to be on the job training. And so we've had a track record of success here in the, you know, in the 15th Congressional District. I can easily parlay that into the Senate."