Who will replace J.D. Vance in the Senate? Meet the top MAGA contenders with their eyes on power

Ohioans are watching closely as the effort to take over Senator J.D. Vance’s seat in the U.S. Senate is well underway.

Vice President-elect Vance has not yet resigned as Ohio’s representative in the Senate.

But once he does, Ohio’s Republican governor, Mike DeWine, will be tasked with appointing someone to fill the vacant seat.

Whoever he believes will fill the seat will hold that office until the next regular state election, after which a special election will be held. The person chosen will complete Vance’s term, which ends in 2028.

It appears several top candidates have emerged, as well as a candidate vying for the coveted spot in the Senate.

Vance will have to resign from the Senate before taking his oath of office as vice president on January 20, 2025.

It’s unclear whether he has thought about who he wants to take over for the remainder of his six-year term in Congress.

But Ohio insiders, including sources familiar with the governor’s thinking, spoke to DailyMail.com, who is considering filling Vance’s seat in the 119th Congress.

Congressman Mike Carey

The 53-year-old lawmaker has represented Ohio’s 15th congressional district since 2021.

He won a special election after being endorsed by former President Donald Trump during a crowded Republican primary.

Many called the race “a test of Trump’s influence on Republican politics,” less than a year after he lost his re-election bid.

Since he has had Trump’s support for years, it is likely that he could become the front-runner by taking Vance’s place in the Senate to continue the MAGA agenda.

Carey served in the Army National Guard from 1989 to 1999 and was chairman of the board of the Ohio Coal Association. He got out there before his successful congressional run.

The congressman lives in Columbus, Ohio with his wife Meghan. They have two sons.

Carey also has a third son from a previous relationship and a grandson through that child.

Former Ohio GOP Chair Jane Timken

It is likely that Timken, 58, could reach the Senate after failing in her 2022 bid to join Ohio’s delegation to the upper chamber of Congress.

Sources say she is among the top three contenders DeWine is considering for the role.

Timken is an attorney and served as chairman of the Republican Party of Ohio from 2017 to 2021.

She was one of the Republicans in the 2022 primary for U.S. Senate, which ultimately went to Vance and led him to defeat former Democratic Ohio Rep. Tim Ryan in that year’s November midterm elections.

Timken took fifth place out of seven in the well-attended primary. She earned 5.9 percent, which amounted to about 62,779 votes.

She lives in Stark County, Ohio with her husband Ward J. ‘Tim’ Timken Jr. and she has two children.

Her husband served as U.S. ambassador to Germany under President George W. Bush.

Ohio State Representative Jay Edwards

Although less known than the other two contenders, Ohio sources claim that State Rep. Edwards is among the top candidates DeWine is considering.

Edwards has represented the 94th Ohio House District since 2017.

Edwards is currently serving his fourth term and will be term-limited at the end of this cycle and will not be eligible for a fifth term.

Edwards was born and raised in Nelsonville, Ohio. He attended Ohio University on a football scholarship and majored in mathematics.

He is also a licensed real estate agent and recently began working in medical sales related to drug therapy.

Ohio Lt. Governor Jon Husted

While he’s still a legitimate candidate, insiders say if DeWine were to go with his lieutenant, it would be a bit “off-script.”

Despite this, Governor DeWine traveled with Husted to Trump’s home at Mar-a-Lago, although the details of any conversation they had with the newly elected president are unclear.

Some believe Husted is now the top contender.

Lt. Gov. Husted, 57, dropped out of the 2018 gubernatorial primary to join DeWine as his running mate and has been his No. 2 since.

Husted represented Ohio’s 6th District in the state Senate from 2009 to 2011.

And before that, he served in the Ohio House of Representatives from 2001 to 2009. He was Speaker of the Ohio House.

He was subsequently elected Ohio Secretary of State in 2010 and re-elected in 2014.

Husted married his wife Tina Zwayer in 2006 and they have three children. They live in the Columbus, Ohio area.

Secretary of State Frank LaRose

One source claimed that while LaRose “wants it,” he “probably won’t get it.”

They described that LaRose has lobbied for the role, but DeWine and others don’t seem too interested in him taking the position.

LaRose, 45, is currently a member of the Army Reserves. He served in the Army from 1998 to 2007 and then joined the Reserves in 2021.

In 2010, La Rose was elected to the Ohio Senate and in 2011 began serving in the left-leaning district, which he won with 56.5 percent to his Democratic challenger’s 43.5 percent.

He won re-election in 2014.

In 2017, LaRose announced he would run for secretary of state and after serving his first term, he ran for re-election in 2021.

Trump, in the campaign for the 2022 midterm elections, announced his support for LaRose at a rally in Delaware, Ohio in April 2021.

In July 2023, La Rose announced his bid for the U.S. Senate to challenge Democratic incumbent Senator Sherrod Brown.

Senator-elect Bernie Moreno ultimately won the primaries and went on to defeat Brown and help Republicans regain control of the upper chamber of Congress.

LaRose endorsed Trump in his 2024 re-election bid in July. He also fired his press secretary Rob Nichols over his social media posts critical of Trump.