JD Vance Replacements Making Their Move

Now that Donald Trump has won his election, Senator J.D. Vance (R-OH) will have to resign his position.

Now, those who hope to replace him are starting to be identified and making moves to take that seat after he takes his oath of office.

Time to Go

It is only a matter of weeks before Vance will step down from his position, leaving a key senate seat back up for the grabs.

Who is appointed this seat is obviously important because while the GOP has taken the Senate, the majority it will have will be very thin.

Governor DeWine has already stated that his phone has been blowing up with people looking to influence his choice.

DeWine stated, “A lot of people are calling. We’re just going through the process of starting to think about this and see who would be the best person.”

Dual Duty

So, this position is an interesting one because DeWine will have to pick someone who can multi-task, so don’t expect someone very young like Vance.

I say this because the individual will have to be able to do the work of a Senator while also running in a special election.

I would also suspect that because of the special election, DeWine is likely to pick someone who is a bit of a mix of him (a moderate) and MAGA. And I don’t necessarily think this is a bad thing because of how close the Vance race was.

Having said that, I think it would be a wise move for DeWine to reach out to Trump for his input on this because the candidate is going to need Trump’s backing to win.

The Leading Candidate

The former Ohio GOP Chair Jane Timken is believed to be atop the list for DeWine, but I am not really a fan of this pick.

I say this because Timken already had a run at this seat, but she finished in fifth during the primary race against Vance when he won the seat, then Vance was stuck in a ruthless dogfight to win the seat.

Having said that, Timken fully backed Vance, so she just might get the support of Trump and Vance on that alone, with one insider stating, “Jane makes all the sense in the world. … But that’s also why she maybe won’t get it. She makes sense as the favorite on paper.”

For me, this has to be a pick that both Vance and Trump can live with and support because this election will be tight, and the GOP has to have this seat. Let’s just hope that DeWine and Trump can put aside their differences for the betterment of the party in this election.