What happens to JD Vance Senate seat if elected as Trump VP

Former President Donald Trump on Monday selected Sen. J.D. Vance (R-OH) as his vice presidential running mate after he was made the GOP nominee at the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee.

Should the GOP duo win the November election, Vance’s seat would be vacated upon the first-term senator becoming vice president in January. Vance was elected in November 2022, and his term ends in January 2029.

Under state law, Gov. Mike DeWine (R-OH) would appoint a temporary successor for Vance’s seat until a special election in November 2026. The winner of that race would serve until the end of the term in early 2029. Another election would be held in November 2028 for a full six-year term.

DeWine celebrated the selection of Vance but did not lay out any potential successors, despite early jockeying for the seat already playing out.

“We’re very happy. This is a great day for Ohio,” DeWine told CNN in an interview on the GOP convention floor. “Ohio truly is the heart of it all, as we say, and now we have the vice presidential candidate, and we hope the next vice president of the United States.”

Ohio Treasurer Robert Sprague, a Republican, signaled interest to the Washington Examiner on Monday in filling the seat prior to the vice presidential announcement.

“Well, I think anyone who's a red-blooded American, who's a patriot, is interested in helping their country, would have to be,” Sprague said.

Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost, a Republican, said prior to Vance’s unveiling that he was not interested.

“No, I’ve always been an executive,” Yost said. “The legislative process frightens and confuses me.”

Yost instead expressed support for Ohio Lt. Gov. Jon Husted, a Republican.

“He's a good fundraiser and well-known. I think we will have no shortage of people who can hold that seat,” Yost said of Husted.

Former Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy expressed intrigue in being Vance’s replacement after he was named as Trump’s choice.

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“If asked to serve in that role, if J.D. is indeed the vice president — we’re going a couple steps ahead here, we don’t know who the vice president is yet,” Ramaswamy said in a CNN interview. “I would strongly consider it.”

Former state Treasurer Josh Mandel and Ohio Republican Chairwoman Jane Timken, both of whom lost to Vance in the 2022 Senate GOP primary, could also be contenders.