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. That’s set off a scramble for the appointment among ambitious Republicans. GOP Gov. Mike DeWine, a pragmatic center-right politician, will fill the vacancy. Those who lost crowded Republican primaries for Senate in 2022 and 2024 are among contenders. They include former Ohio Republican Chair Jane Timken; Secretary of State Frank LaRose; and state Sen. Matt Dolan. Two-term Ohio Treasurer Robert Sprague and Republican attorney and strategist Mehek Cooke, a frequent guest on Fox News, also have applied.
