Possible Candidates to Replace JD Vance for Ohio Senate Seat

Now that Trump has won the election, he is pillaging Congress for appointments.  

This, of course, includes the seat for his VP, JD Vance. There are already some clear favorites to take his seat. 

Replacing JD 

With JD Vance about to resign his seat in the Senate, it will be up to Governor DeWine to replace him.  

DeWine will have to pick someone who cannot only do the job of being a Senator but he or she will also have to campaign for the special election.  

We should note, this is going to be a point of contention by Democrats with JD Vance listed among the top five Republicans who missed votes (because he spent so much time on the campaign trail).  

Having said that, there are now some clear favorites in the race.  

The Favorites 

There has already been some early polling on this, and Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose leads the race, but it is not a cinch at this point, as he is polling at 17%. 

Right behind LaRose is Lt. Gov. John Husted, who is polling at 10%.  

Trump surrogate Mehek Cooke, who many thought would have more grip, is polling at only 1%.  

This is likely to be a full field, and Ohio is always a battle, so DeWine better think long and hard, possibly even consulting with Trump before he makes his selection to make sure Trump and Vance will back the candidate.  

Razor Thin... 

After Trump won the election, I had reported that I understood that he wanted to reward his congressional supporters, but that it could present an issue.  

If the GOP does not have complete control of Congress, Trump will be a lame duck, and he cannot afford that. With the GOP only holding a few extra seats, Trump has raided the House for his administration.  

Speaker Johnson (R-LA) actually recently addressed this, telling Trump to look elsewhere because he is putting the majority at risk. Johnson stated, "But I've told President Trump, enough already, give me some relief. I have to maintain this majority. And he understands that, of course, we've been talking about it almost hourly every day.” 

So far, most of the seats that Trump has taken are in GOP strongholds, but you just never know. Let’s just hope the excitement of the Trump campaign carries over to the special elections and we maintain the majority we have right now.