MILWAUKEE, WISCONSIN – One day after Donald Trump announced his running mate would be Ohio Sen. J.D. Vance, Ohio Republicans started considering who could be his replacement in the Senate in conversations with the Daily Caller.
Contingent on a Trump-Vance win in November, Republican Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine would be left to pick a replacement for the seat. Following the announcement, one-time presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy told the Caller he would “strongly consider” taking the seat if it were offered to him, while other reports indicated that DeWine was leaning toward choosing State Sen. Matt Dolan, who earlier this year lost a primary to Bernie Moreno for Ohio’s other Senate seat. Various reports float names under consideration, so state Republicans talking to Daily Caller gave some suggestions themselves.
“Oh, he would be amazing,” Debbie Lang, an Ohio Republican Party central committeewoman, told the Caller of Ramaswamy. “He’s great. He’s such a supporter of President Trump. He can articulate our conservative values. He’s wonderful. He’s our future. He’s a young man and he’s brilliant. And so he would be good.”
State Sen. Sandy O’Brien also threw her support behind Ramaswamy in a conversation with the Caller.
Ramaswamy was at one point a contender for the coveted spot of Trump’s running mate, but reports indicated in March that he had been ruled out. Since, the topic of taking a position in a potential second Trump administration has been the speculation around the rising star of the GOP. Now, the Senate seat may be on the table.
“If asked to serve, I would strongly consider the position,” Ramaswamy told the Caller Monday. He stressed that he would first consult Trump on what the best path forward would be for the country, however. He also lauded the pick of Vance as running mate and characterized him as “one of our best fighters” in the Senate.
Who else wants JD Vance’s Senate seat to be filled by @VivekGRamaswamy?
— Mike Lee (@BasedMikeLee) July 15, 2024
Of course, the seat would only need to be filled if Trump and Vance win the election, putting serious consideration off for at least another four months. DeWine would then be left to appoint an interim replacement before a special election could be held in November 2026. Under the state statute, DeWine is free to appoint “some suitable person having the necessary qualifications for senator,” according to the New York Times.
DeWine and the former president were recently at odds after they endorsed different candidates in Ohio’s GOP Senate primary. Trump endorsed Moreno, who would go on to win, while DeWine backed Dolan, who the former president calls a “RINO.” Days before the election in March, DeWine refused to endorse Trump, saying he was focusing on local elections.
Ohio Delegate Mike Gondak told the Caller that whoever throws their hat in the ring needs to think of the toll of the job and whether that is something they can handle. Gondak had some names to suggest for the job, including former Ohio Republican Party Chairwoman Jane Timken, who unsuccessfully ran for Senate in 2022, losing the primary to Vance along with several other candidates. Gondak also floated the name of Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost.
Joe Biden and Sherrod Brown destroyed our border, destroyed our economy, and destroyed our standing in the world. In November, we will fire them both. pic.twitter.com/DVUzqnv5Aq
— Bernie Moreno (@berniemoreno) July 17, 2024
“Jane Timken would be great. Vivek has raised his hand, he would be great if he was interested as well. We’ve got a stable of statewide officeholders that are going to be term-limited here soon. So it’s an amazing opportunity for the Governor because he has two years left to leave his mark,” Gondak told the Caller.
Though some are enthusiastic to learn who could be replacing Vance, other Ohio Republicans told the Caller that the speculation was premature. The focus instead should be ensuring that Trump wins along with Moreno, who is taking on Democratic Ohio Sen. Sherrod Brown, they said. Moreno has closely aligned himself with Trump during the campaign, which earned him the primary endorsement. Moreno was also endorsed by Vance and Donald Trump Jr., among other Trump allies.
“Every minute we spend talking about anything beyond this November’s election is an advantage to Joe Biden, a man who can barely finish a sentence. It’s an advantage to Kamala Harris because nobody gets to see how incompetent she is and it’s an advantage to Sherrod Brown because we don’t talk about how Sherrod Brown acts like a radical liberal in Washington,” Ohio Lt. Gov. Jon Husted told the Caller.
DeWine was asked directly about who he would appoint to the seat, but similarly punted the question.
“We have to win first,” the governor told Fox News Digital.
