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What happens to JD Vance’s US Senate seat in January?

By WHIO Staff
By WHIO Staff

OHIO — There was a major shift in the Ohio political landscape on Tuesday night and it has enormous national implications. One of Ohio’s freshman senators has been elected vice president and the other helped Republicans take control of the United States Senate.

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With Bernie Moreno taking over for longtime Democratic senator Sherrod Brown and JD Vance heading to the White House as vice president, the focus now turns to Ohio Governor Mike DeWine and who he will appoint to the vacant senate seat created by Vance’s departure.

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As reported on News Center 7 at 5:30, Dr. Marc Clauson, a professor of history and law at Cedarville University, believes DeWine will be leaning toward a smooth transition.

“I do think he will choose somebody relatively young,” Clauson said. “JD Vance was young and I think he’d like to see that continue. Somebody’s going to be there for a while. I also think he’s going to pick somebody who is ideologically on the same wavelength that he is.”

Whoever the governor appoints will have around two years in office before needing to run in a special election in 2026. That will be followed by another election in 2028 for a full six-year term.

It’s an interesting scenario with Ohio’s senior US senator entering on their first term.

“An important aspect of these legislative bodies that enable senators and congressmen to get something for their states, to get something done for specifically their state,” Clauson said. “And this may be a slower process this time around for Ohio because you don’t have a senior senator.”

Clauson does believe that having Vice President-elect Vance in office will help Ohio’s national leverage and would not be surprised if that can lead to some higher-level committee appointments as well.

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