A political newcomer who had taken himself out of consideration for the US Senate seat held by VP-elect JD Vance apparently wants back in the pool of candidates for the appointment by Gov. Mike DeWine.
Sources said Republican tech entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy and DeWine met last weekend about the Senate seat, which most observers expected to go to Lt. Gov. Jon Husted. President-elect Trump is also said to be encouraging Ramaswamy to go to the Senate, according to reports from NBC News and the Washington Post.
Ramaswamy, a native of Cincinnati, is a billionaire who made his fortune through a hedge fund and a biotech firm he founded. He ran for president briefly but became a vocal supporter of former president Trump’s campaign. In November Ramaswamy was asked if he’d want the US Senate seat to be vacated by Vance, a fellow Ohioan Ramaswamy knew when they were at Yale.
“There’s a lot of ways to shape the country. I‘m looking forward to playing a big role and, with big ideas about what’s ahead," Ramaswamy said at the Ohio Chamber of Commerce's Impact Ohio event on Nov. 7. “We are having a lot of conversations with President Trump and the transition at every level about what’s next, and looking forward to sharing that with you."
Ramaswamy said after he and Elon Musk were appointed to lead the Department of Government Efficiency, he was no longer in contention for Vance's seat.
"I’m withdrawing myself from consideration for the pending Senate appointment in Ohio," Ramaswamy posted on X on Nov. 12. "Whoever Governor DeWine appoints to JD’s seat has some big shoes to fill. I will help them however I can."
DOGE is set to end on July 4, 2026, which could potentially give Ramaswamy an opportunity to campaign for governor that year, though he would have to file in early February. Husted has long planned to run for the Republican nomination for governor in 2026, and has DeWine's support. Husted has raised twice as much money for that race as Attorney General Dave Yost, who teased an announcement about his campaign for governor on X earlier this year.
Dewine’s office isn’t commenting, and there’s no indication when DeWine will have an announcement about the appointment. Whoever is selected will be the junior senator to Bernie Moreno, who was sworn into the US Senate earlier this month after defeating longtime incumbent Democrat Sherrod Brown.
Vance resigned his seat last week in advance of his inauguration as vice president on Monday. But there's no timeline on when DeWine must pick someone to fill that seat.
