COLUMBUS, Ohio — If former President Donald Trump wins the election in November, Ohio will be in need of a new U.S. Senator.
It was just last month when voters in Ohio’s sixth Congressional District held a special election to replace former Congressman Bill Johnson. But, with JD Vance being in the U.S. Senate, the process for filling his seat if he became Vice President is unique in Ohio. It requires Governor Mike DeWine to make a final decision.
“The constitution provides for gubernatorial appointment of Senators to fill vacancies,” said Jonathan Entin, a professor of law at Case Western Reserve University. “But it doesn’t provide for a gubernatorial appointment to fill House vacancies.”
According to the Ohio Revised Code, the Governor can appoint “a suitable person with the right qualifications to be a Senator.” At this point, DeWine is not tipping his hand as to who that candidate might be. He says, we need to still see what happens in the general election this upcoming November.
The revised code also states, “At least one hundred eighty days prior to the date of such regular state election, the governor shall issue a writ directing that a special election be held to fill such vacancy as provided in this section. The writ shall be directed to the secretary of state and a copy of the writ sent by mail to the board of elections of each county in the state which shall give notice of the time and place of holding such special election in the same manner and at the same time provided in section 3501.03 of the Revised Code for giving similar notice for regular elections.”
“I think it’s important for us to win the election first,” Gov. DeWine said. “We’ll have ample time after November to make that decision. We have a lot of good people out there and but I’m not going to cross that bridge until we get there.”
At this point, speculations suggest that part of DeWine’s decision could depend on whether Bernie Moreno beats Democratic Incumbent U.S. Senator Sherrod Brown in November. DeWine has previously endorsed State Senator Matt Dolan in the recent primary election. Political Scientist Justin Buchler says DeWine will look for a certain type of individual that is an establishment type to replace Vance if he were to win vice president come November.
“He wants an establishment type because he is an establishment type,” said Buchler. “So, while we don’t necessarily know who he will pick, we can get a sense of the type of candidate that he would pick to replace JD Vance.”
Whoever DeWine decides to pick would only hold the seat temporarily. Vance’s current terms runs until 2028, but Case Western Reserve Law Professor Jonathan Entin also says Ohio would have to hold a special election in November 2026.
“Now, could we have a special election sooner? Sure,” Entin said. “Some states do that, but the constitution doesn’t require it. The cost of running a special election is sufficiently large that presumably the general assembly decided that it wasn’t worth incurring that cost.”
Meanwhile, If Vance does end up losing, he will be able to complete his term on Capitol Hill.