Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine remains tight-lipped about who is considering to fill the soon-to-be-vacant Ohio U.S. Senate seat.
DeWine told reporters Thursday morning he doesn’t know yet who is going to pick to replace Ohio Sen. J.D. Vance when he becomes vice president. Vance will be inaugurated on Jan. 20 and has yet to announce when he will resign from the Senate.
“I’ve interviewed a number of people, I’ve talked to a number of people,” DeWine said. “A lot of people want to be senator, quite an amazing number. People have had some contact with us about that, a lot of people have opinions around the state. We’re in the process of reaching a decision and we will have it by the time J.D. Vance resigns.”
DeWine said he has spoken to President-elect Donald Trump and Vance about the Senate seat, but said he was not going to divulge information about their conversations.
Both of Ohio’s senators will be new to the U.S. Senate with Republican political newcomer Bernie Moreno ousting Sen. Sherrod Brown during last month’s election. Whoever DeWine appoints must run in the 2026 special election if they want to maintain their Senate seat, something he is taking into consideration.