Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine laughed off denying he is interested in nominating himself for a vacant Senate seat if former President Donald Trump and his vice presidential running mate, U.S. Sen. J.D. Vance, are elected, but he did provide a list of qualities he would look for in a candidate.
Ohio Democratic delegates voted to endorse Kamala Harris as their presidential candidate ahead of the National Convention in August. Now that Harris is the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee, Republicans must change their plan to compete with her.
“We’ve never had a presidential campaign like this in the history of this country,” DeWine said. “It’s going to continue to grow.”
But the governor said he wasn’t worried. Trump won Ohio by eight points in both 2016 and 2020.
“There’s nothing to suggest he won’t win Ohio by at least that amount,” DeWine added. “I don’t view Ohio as a presidential battleground.”
As Democrats grapple with change, the governor will have a huge decision to make if a Republican wins.
While Vance is running, he doesn’t have to give up his seat. If he wins, DeWine will have to name a successor.
As DeWine said, candidates are already throwing their hats into the ring.
“I don’t have a short list and I don’t even have a long list,” he said with a smile. “There are people who have expressed interest and there are other people who have expressed interest in who I appoint.”
At an unrelated news conference, the governor was joined by House Speaker Jason Stephens, R-Kitts Hill, and Senate President Matt Huffman, R-Lima. We asked each of them what qualities they would like to see in the nominee.
DeWine said he is looking for someone who can win not only the 2026 primary and general election, but also the 2028 election.
“I’m going to look for someone who wants to get the job done every day and is going to focus on that — it’s hard work, it’s not easy work,” he added. “We also need to have someone who can stay there for a while.”
Building seniority is vital, and the longer a legislator holds a given position, the more effective they become, he added.
Huffman and Stephens, who were not thrilled to be called upon to speak, avoided answering the question.
“If the governor asks me for my opinion, I’ll give it to him — it’s confidential,” Huffman said. “That’s why people ask questions in confidence, so they don’t have to go out and blabber on to everybody. Of course, I don’t want to offend anyone.”
Stephens took a more gentle approach.
“Whenever there’s a potential political vacancy, there’s always a lot of speculation,” Stephens said. “I don’t think it helps to put the cart before the horse, so to speak.”
The speaker continued by saying that in politics everything changes rapidly.
“I think our focus is on the presidential election,” he added. “And the House and Senate elections in the next few months.”
In this remark, Stephens, intentionally or not, drew attention to the fierce struggle he was engaging in with the man standing next to him.
Infighting Update
Huffman announced a long-awaited move in March — his interest in running to unseat Stephens in January 2025. He suggested to us that Stephens wasn’t doing a good enough job and said Democrats had contacted him about a possible run for speaker.
“It would be better for the Senate president to focus on running the Senate instead of trying to run the House,” Stephens said when we asked him in April about the political competition.
Huffman had been in campaign talks for months, gaining support from a vast swath of the House of Representatives and from national and state groups that wanted to remove Stephens from office.
At the moment it is ongoing lawsuit between ownership of a campaign fund account for House Republicans. A Columbus judge ruled in favor of the lawmakers suing Stephens, but a state appeals court put the decision on hold for now.
This campaign account played a key role in fighting attempts to remove Stephens’ allies from power.
Back to the US Senate
We did a lot longer piece on popular names popping up around Capital Square in Columbus.
In brief, the most likely choice would be state Sen. Matt Dolan, a Republican from Chagrin Falls, according to more than a dozen politicians we spoke with.
The governor endorsed Dolan in the recent Republican primary for U.S. Senate, but he finished second to Bernie Moreno.
“Senator Dolan and Governor DeWine have wisely said we need to focus on winning in November. They are absolutely right,” Dolan spokesman Chris Maloney said.
Dolan’s name came up during the news conference, but DeWine deviated from the topic and simply mentioned that a lot of people were interested in him.
Jane Timken is another popular name. She is a Trump ally who ran in 2022 and is currently a member of the Ohio RNC committee.
“My focus is on the elections of Donald Trump, JD Vance and Bernie Moreno and our entire Ohio state,” Timken said. “Any discussion of a Senate vacancy is premature.”
The governor said he won’t be considering possible candidates before the November election — but he can say one thing for sure.
“So you’re not planning on appointing yourself to the Senate?” the reporter asked jokingly, as rumors circulated that DeWine had chosen himself and allowed Lieutenant Governor Jon Husted to become the incumbent governor in the 2026 election.
“Well, I thought it would be a good gossip we could start,” he said, laughing. “I was going to have fun with you and let you chase it for a few days.”
“No, no, no, I treasure my 57 years of marriage,” the governor continued, prompting even more laughter. “I don’t think Fran is happy about that.”
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