Ohio has been without a lieutenant governor since Jan. 21, when Jon Husted was sworn in to replace Vice President JD Vance in the US Senate. Gov. Mike DeWine is likely to appoint Husted’s successor soon.
At the event announcing Husted’s appointment to the Senate, DeWine didn’t want to talk about replacing Husted, and was vague about what he was looking for in a new lieutenant governor.
“Jon’s a tough act to follow. The qualities that Jon has are certainly some of the qualities, are the qualities I will look for in the next lieutenant governor," DeWine said.
DeWine himself served as lieutenant governor. He was George Voinovich’s first LG in 1990, and resigned after he was elected to the US Senate in 1994. Voinovich picked Marietta Mayor Nancy Hollister as his second lieutenant governor. She became the first woman governor of Ohio on New Year's Eve 1998 when she was sworn in to replace Voinovich, who'd also been elected to the US Senate. Twenty years earlier, Voinovich was the first person elected lieutenant governor as the governor’s running mate.
DeWine could select someone who wants to join the already-active race for the Republican nomination for governor. Attorney General Dave Yost is running, and billionaire tech entrepreneur and former Trump appointee Vivek Ramaswamy is set to enter the race soon. Or DeWine's choice may be someone who wants to run for another statewide office. Some names that have been circulated are Department of Development Director and former Findlay mayor Lydia Mihalik and Department of Public Safety Director Andy Wilson.
DeWine has said the contest for governor could be "a contentious race". So it's possible he could someone who's not known primarily as a politician and focus on the work Husted was doing in technology and workforce development. That could be especially important as DeWine sells his proposed two-year budget to state lawmakers.
Whoever DeWine names will have to be confirmed by the Ohio House and Senate.
