Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine announced on Friday that he selected Lt. Gov. John Husted to replace Vice President-elect J.D. Vance in the Senate.
This development comes as President-elect Donald Trump and Vance are set to take office on Monday. DeWine made the announcement in a post on X.
I'm proud to announce that I have selected @LtGovHusted to serve in the U.S. Senate, replacing Vice President-elect @JDVance. pic.twitter.com/W5918DDaCz
— Governor Mike DeWine (@GovMikeDeWine) January 17, 2025
Husted has been a prominent figure in Ohio politics for over two decades. He started when he became a state representative in 2000. He later served as Speaker of the House from 2005 to 2009. He was elected as a state senator in 2008.
Two years later, he became Ohio’s Secretary of State and oversaw elections and business registrations. He employed new technology to reduce the average time it takes to register a new business to only a few hours. He also slashed fees for business registration as well.
During his tenure as Ohio’s secretary of state, he ran the office without the use of taxpayer funds and generated a $10 million surplus before he left office.
In his position as lieutenant governor, Husted heads the Office of Workforce Transformation. This department helps to match workers to businesses. He has also been instrumental in decreasing business regulations.
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He has focused his entire career, both in the private sector and public service, on creating a strong economy and thriving communities. As Lt. Governor, his work has driven some of the largest economic development deals the state has ever seen, including attracting new investment in every region of the state from companies like Ford, Abbott Labs, Medpace, General Motors, Honda - - and the largest economic development deal in Ohio's history with Intel’s chip manufacturing facility in Licking County.
As Director of the Governor’s Office of Workforce Transformation, he’s worked to ensure our residents have the skills they need so all those new jobs are filled by Ohioans, in addition to attracting new talent to our state. He pioneered new strategies for job training through business (not government)-driven programs like TechCred and Industry Sector Partnerships in order to give new opportunity to every Ohioan.
Husted faced a backlash during the COVID-19 pandemic when he posted a tweet in March 2021 quoting CDC Director Robert Redfield, who floated the idea that the coronavirus originated in a Chinese lab in Wuhan. “So it appears it was the Wuhan Virus after all?” he wrote.
So it appears it was the Wuhan Virus after all?https://t.co/zmimtlZ9Ev
— Jon Husted (@JonHusted) March 26, 2021
Ex-CDC director says he believes coronavirus originated in Wuhan lab
Husted’s post elicited a barrage of criticism from folks on the left falsely claiming he was promoting anti-Asian sentiment. He later clarified that his comment was directed at the Chinese government, not all Chinese people.
Husted has been an avid supporter of Trump and officially endorsed him in January 2024. When Trump won the election, Husted sent his congratulations and committed to working with the president-elect to pursue his “America First” agenda.
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