Ohio Lt. Gov. Jon Husted was expected to win appointment to the state’s Senate seat vacated by Vice President-elect J.D. Vance.

Republican Gov. Mike DeWine planned a 1 p.m. Friday announcement to name Mr. Husted, 57, who also served as Ohio’s secretary of state and speaker of the state’s House of Representatives.

Mr. Husted is poised to fill the vacant seat after weeks of jockeying by other interested Republicans, including former presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy, co-head of President-elect Donald Trump’s Department of Government Efficiency.

Mr. Vance, who was elected to the Senate in 2022, resigned from the seat on Jan. 9.

His replacement could run in 2026 to complete the remaining two years of the term. 

Mr. Husted had planned to run in 2026 to succeed Mr. DeWine as governor.

But he pivoted recently to seek the Senate seat. His appointment spares him a competitive GOP gubernatorial primary that may have pitted him against Mr. Ramaswamy.

Mr. Husted is expected to quickly be sworn in to the Senate. He’ll join Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody, whom Gov. Ron DeSantis appointed Thursday to fill the seat vacated by Secretary of State nominee Marco Rubio.

Once Mr. Husted and Ms. Moody take their Senate seats, Republicans will control the GOP majority with 53 votes.

Mr. Husted’s imminent appointment was first reported by Signal Cleveland. 

• Susan Ferrechio can be reached at sferrechio@washingtontimes.com.