2026 United States Senate special election in Ohio
 | |||||||
| |||||||
| |||||||
| |||||||
| Elections in Ohio |
|---|
 |
The 2026 United States Senate special election in Ohio will be held on November 3, 2026, following the election of Senator JD Vance as vice president of the United States, as he is expected to resign from the Senate before assuming the vice presidency on January 20, 2025.
According to Ohio law, if a U.S. Senate seat becomes vacant, the governor appoints a replacement who serves until December 15 following the next regularly scheduled statewide election that occurs more than 180 days after the vacancy. A special election to fill the remainder of the term is then held concurrently with that regular state election, which in this case would be the one on November 3, 2026.[1][2] Governor Mike DeWine has stated that he will announce an interim replacement after Vance has resigned his seat sometime before January.[3]
This will be the first U.S. Senate special election in Ohio since the one to this seat in 1954.
Background
[edit]After voting for President Barack Obama in both 2008 and 2012, Ohio has trended increasingly Republican in subsequent years and is now considered a moderately to strongly red state at the federal and state level. Republicans control all statewide offices, majorities in both chambers of the state legislature, and will hold both Senate seats when the 119th Congress convenes in 2025. Republicans also have a majority of the state's House delegation.
Republican nominee Donald Trump won Ohio in 2016 and 2020 by 8 percentage points, and in 2024 grew his margin to 11 percentage points.[4] Additionally, Republican JD Vance, now the vice president-elect of the United States, defeated Democrat Tim Ryan in the 2022 U.S. Senate election by slightly over 6 points, while Republican Bernie Moreno, defeated then-incumbent Sherrod Brown in the 2024 U.S. Senate election by slightly over 3.5 points.[5]
Republican primary
[edit]Candidates
[edit]Potential
[edit]- Mike Carey, U.S. representative from Ohio's 15th congressional district (2021–present)[6]
- Mehek Cooke, lawyer and political consultant[7]
- Warren Davidson, U.S. representative from Ohio's 8th congressional district (2016–present)[6]
- Mike DeWine, Governor of Ohio (2019–present) and former U.S. Senator (1995–2007)[8]
- Matt Dolan, state senator from the 24th district (2017–present) and candidate for U.S. Senate in 2022 and 2024[9][8]
- Jay Edwards, state representative from the 94th district (2017–present)[10]
- Matt Huffman, President of the Ohio Senate (2021–present) from the 12th district (2017–present)[11]
- Jon Husted, Lieutenant Governor of Ohio (2019–present)[9][8]
- Sharon Kennedy, Chief Justice of the Ohio Supreme Court (2023–present)[12]
- Frank LaRose, Ohio secretary of state (2019–present) and candidate for U.S. Senate in 2024[9][8]
- Josh Mandel, former Ohio state treasurer (2011–2019), nominee for U.S. Senate in 2012 and candidate in 2018 and 2022[13]
- Robert Sprague, Ohio state treasurer (2019–present)[9]
- Jason Stephens, Speaker of the Ohio House of Representatives (2023–present) from the 93rd district (2019–present)[11]
- Jane Timken, former chair of the Ohio Republican Party (2017–2021) and candidate for U.S. Senate in 2022[9]
Declined
[edit]- Vivek Ramaswamy, former CEO of Roivant Sciences (2014–2023) and candidate for president in 2024[14]
- Dave Yost, Ohio Attorney General (2019–present)[9] (running for governor)[15]
Democratic primary
[edit]Candidates
[edit]Publicly expressed interest
[edit]- Tim Ryan, former U.S. representative from Ohio's 13th congressional district (2003–2023) and nominee for U.S. Senate in 2022[14]
Potential
[edit]- Sherrod Brown, outgoing U.S. Senator (2007–2025)[16][17]
- Greg Landsman, U.S. representative from Ohio's 1st congressional district (2023–present) (will not run if Sherrod Brown runs)[18]
- Allison Russo, Minority Leader of the Ohio House of Representatives (2022–present) and nominee for Ohio's 15th congressional district in the 2021 special election[19]
Declined
[edit]- Shontel Brown, U.S. representative from Ohio's 11th congressional district (2021–present)[20]
- Emilia Sykes, U.S. representative from Ohio's 13th congressional district (2023–present)[20]
Notes
[edit]- ^ JD Vance was elected vice president of the United States in the 2024 presidential election. He is set to vacate his Senate seat on or before January 20, 2025, and governor Mike DeWine will appoint an interim successor.
References
[edit]- ^ Burd, Aaron (July 16, 2024). "How J.D. Vance's replacement in U.S. Senate will be picked if he becomes vice president". WCMH-TV.
- ^ "Filling vacancies in elective offices" (PDF). Ohio Secretary of State. p. 2. Retrieved November 6, 2024.
- ^ Pelzer, Jeremy (November 7, 2024). "Who will Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine pick to fill VP-elect JD Vance's U.S. Senate seat?". The Plain Dealer. Archived from the original on November 7, 2024. Retrieved November 7, 2024.
- ^ Schladen, Marty (November 6, 2024). "Trump wins Ohio for a third time". Ohio Capital Journal. Retrieved December 5, 2024.
- ^ Evans, Nick (November 6, 2024). "Republican Bernie Moreno defeats incumbent Sherrod Brown for Ohio U.S. Senate seat • Ohio Capital Journal". Ohio Capital Journal. Retrieved December 5, 2024.
- ^ a b Miller, Andrew (November 6, 2024). "8 possible replacements that could be appointed by Ohio's governor to fill JD Vance's Senate seat". Fox News. Archived from the original on November 8, 2024. Retrieved November 7, 2024.
- ^ Gancarski, A.G. (November 23, 2024). "JD Vance Senate vacancy sets up scramble in Ohio to fill seat". Florida Politics. Archived from the original on November 23, 2024. Retrieved November 24, 2024.
- ^ a b c d Henry, Megan (November 6, 2024). "What will happen to J.D. Vance's Ohio U.S. Senate seat?". Ohio Capital Journal. Archived from the original on November 7, 2024. Retrieved November 8, 2024.
- ^ a b c d e f Kronenberg, Alan (September 5, 2024). "Who Would Take Over for JD Vance or Tim Walz, and Does it Matter?". U.S. News & World Report. Archived from the original on November 16, 2024. Retrieved November 6, 2024.
- ^ Trau, Morgan (December 23, 2024). "Ohio Gov. DeWine and Lt. Gov Husted visit Trump, Vance ahead of U.S. Senate appointment". Ohio Capital Journal. Retrieved December 23, 2024.
- ^ a b Burd, Aaron; Fahmy, Natalie (November 6, 2024). "How Ohio will choose a Senate replacement for Vice President-elect JD Vance". WCMH-TV. Retrieved November 7, 2024.
- ^ Weaver, Al (November 10, 2024). "Jockeying kicks off to fill Vance vacancy in Senate". The Hill. Archived from the original on November 11, 2024. Retrieved November 12, 2024.
- ^ Wendler, Jacob (July 16, 2024). "Here's What Would Happen To J.D. Vance's Senate Seat If Trump Wins". Forbes. Retrieved November 10, 2024.
- ^ a b Tobias, Andrew (November 14, 2024). "Democrat Tim Ryan open to 2026 election run; who's battling for Ohio House speaker". Signal Cleveland. Archived from the original on November 28, 2024. Retrieved November 14, 2024.
- ^ Andrews, Melissa (December 4, 2024). "Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost says he will run for Governor". WTOL. Retrieved December 4, 2024.
- ^ Daniels, Eugene; Bade, Rachael (November 15, 2024). "Playbook: Trump floods the zone with new appointees". Politico. Retrieved November 15, 2024.
On whether he'd run to fill the remainder of JD Vance's Senate term: "I'm not ruling anything out."
- ^ Cohen, David (November 24, 2024). "Sherrod Brown won't rule out running for Senate again". Politico. Archived from the original on November 25, 2024. Retrieved November 26, 2024.
- ^ Solender, Andrew (November 27, 2024). "Scoop: A huge wave of House members is eyeing runs for other offices in 2026". Axios. Archived from the original on November 28, 2024. Retrieved November 27, 2024.
- ^ "Replacing JD Vance in the U.S. Senate sets off scramble in Ohio". CBS News. November 22, 2024. Archived from the original on November 22, 2024. Retrieved November 24, 2024.
- ^ a b Solender, Andrew (December 12, 2024). "GOP Rep. Ciscomani passes on run for Arizona governor". Axios. Retrieved December 12, 2024.
Reps. Emilia Sykes (D-Ohio) and Shontel Brown (D-Ohio) won't run for Vice President-elect JD Vance's Senate seat, according to Sykes' office and a statement from Brown.