JD Vance is leaving the Senate for the vice presidency. That's set off a scramble for his Ohio seat

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — JD Vance's election as vice president has opened up one of Ohio's U.S. Senate seats for the third time in as many years, setting off a scramble for the appointment among the state's ruling Republicans.

GOP Gov. Mike DeWine is tasked with filling the vacancy, giving the pragmatic center-right politician a hand in setting his party's course in the state potentially for years to come. His decision will be made in the afterglow of sweeping wins by Republicans in November under the leadership of Donald Trump, but a poor choice could also help Democrats reclaim a place in Ohio’s Senate delegation when the seat comes up for reelection in less than two years.

“Look, being a United States senator is a big deal,” the governor told reporters in the days after the election. “It’s a big deal for the state, and we need to get it right.”

DeWine has a long list to choose from — particularly given the number of GOP candidates who competed unsuccessfully in Senate primaries in 2022 and 2024. Those under consideration who previously lost crowded Republican primaries are former Ohio Republican Chair Jane Timken; two-term Secretary of State Frank LaRose; and state Sen. Matt Dolan, whose family owns baseball's Cleveland Guardians. Two-term Ohio Treasurer Robert Sprague and Republican attorney and strategist Mehek Cooke, a frequent guest on Fox News, are also in the mix.

One other prospective appointee — a 2024 presidential contender, Cincinnati pharmaceutical entrepreneur and Vance insider Vivek Ramaswamy — pulled out of contention after accepting a position in the new Trump administration.

While Vance's departure also offers DeWine an opportunity to alleviate a bottleneck at the top of Ohio Republicans' political pecking order, where Lt. Gov. Jon Husted and Attorney...