Here are the candidates most likely to fill JD Vance’s Senate seat

close

Video

Vance continues meetings with GOP senators on Trump Cabinet picks

Fox News senior congressional correspondent Chad Pergram reports on the Cabinet confirmation process ahead of the Trump transition to the White House.?

Republican Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine is faced with a crowded field of candidates vying to fill Vice President-elect JD Vance's seat in the Senate, but a new poll shows some candidates are going into the battle with an advantage.

Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose leads fellow candidates in a hypothetical GOP primary for Vance's seat conducted by WPA Intelligence. LaRose' closest competitor is Lieutenant Gov. Jon Husted, who was favored by 10% of respondents compared to LaRose's 17%.

Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost, another contender for the seat, received 9% support. Meanwhile, Rep. Mike Carey, R-Ohio, is in the midst of aggressively pitching himself for Vance's role, but he received just 2% support in the poll.

Attorney Mehek Cooke, a Republican attorney who served as a surrogate for the Trump campaign in 2024, received 1% support in the poll. 

VANCE IN 'CATBIRD SEAT' FOR 2028 GOP PRESIDENTIAL NOMINATION, BUT THESE REPUBLICANS MAY ALSO RUN

Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose is among the leading candidates to replace JD Vance in the Senate. (AP Photo/Paul Vernon, File)

A large number of voters, 39%, remain undecided in the race, however.

WPA conducted the poll from Nov. 17-20, surveying 1,028 Ohio likely voters statewide via phone interviews and online. The poll advertises a margin of error of 3.1%.

LaRose also leads the pack when filtering for candidates who have received an endorsement from President-elect Trump in the past. LaRose received 30% support under those parameters, with his closest competitor being former Ohio Rep. Jim Rennaci.

HERE'S WHAT HAPPENS TO SEN. RUBIO'S SEAT IF HE BECOMES SECRETARY OF STATE AND WHO COULD REPLACE HIM

Carey has also received a Trump endorsement prior to the current contest, and he received 7% support.

Rep. Mike Carey, R-Ohio, is pushing for the appointment to replace JD Vance in the Senate. (Bill Clark/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)

Both Trump and Vance have so far been silent when it comes to filling the vacant Senate seat, and their endorsements are likely to be the deciding factor in the contest.

NEW CANDIDATE EMERGES IN CROWDED FIELD AS POSSIBLE REPLACEMENT FOR VANCE'S OHIO SENATE SEAT

DeWine has confirmed that he is deliberating about whom to select for the seat, telling local media on Tuesday that he wants to have a candidate ready for whenever Vance formally resigns his seat.

"We want someone who's going to be fighting for Ohio every single day," he said.

Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine will appoint JD Vance's replacement in the Senate. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)

WPA concluded from its polling that LaRose would "clearly be the strongest GOP choice" both to replace Vance and to defeat a Democratic challenger in the next election.

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

As Ohio's secretary of state, LaRose has led efforts to combat illegal voting. His office purged hundreds of thousands of wrongful voter registrations, including hundreds of non-citizen registrations, prior to Election Day. He also sued President Biden's administration in October in an effort to force the administration to assist in cleaning up voter rolls.