Lieutenant Governor of the State of Ohio Jon Husted will replace Vice-President elect JD Vance as Ohio’s newest senator, governor Mike DeWine announced on Friday.

“I came to the conclusion that the person who was best suited to be the United States senator is a person who has been close to me for the last six years — a person who almost daily I work with,” DeWine said at during a press conference at the Ohio Statehouse in Columbus. “And that is Lieutenant Governor John Husted.”

DeWine interviewed “a large number of people” for the position, he said, before settling on Husted, who he said understands Ohio and “the interaction between the federal government and the state government.”

Husted was elected lieutenant governor of the State of Ohio in 2018, and before that, served as Ohio secretary of state, speaker of the Ohio house of representatives, and a member of the state senate. The lieutenant plans for a 2026 run for governor, and will occupy Vance’s senate seat until 2026, when a special election will be held to fill the remainder of the term.

President-elect Donald Trump is reported to have favored former presidential candidate and Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) co-chair Vivek Ramaswamy for the Ohio senate seat. Ramaswamy is expected to announce a bid for Ohio governor in the near future.

“In my mind, my mission has always been clear: to ensure Ohioans have access to good jobs, quality job training and the opportunity to achieve their vision,” Husted said in his acceptance remarks.

One of Husted’s recent policy priorities has been social media regulation for minors. Husted was in support of Ohio’s Social Media Parental Notification Act, which would require social media platforms to determine if users are 15 or younger. If they are younger, guardians must provide social media with written consent, in order for their children to access the platforms.

A father-of-three, Husted was a football player at the University of Dayton.