Chuck Schumer preps for return to Senate minority after GOP victory
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., broke his silence on Wednesday night following poor election results for Democrats across the board, including a presidential loss and the Republicans retaking the Senate majority. “As I’ve said time and again, in both the majority and the minority, the only way to get things done in the Senate is through bipartisan legislation while maintaining our principles — and the next two years will be no different,” he said in a statement. Despite Vice President Kamala Harris’ decisive loss to President-Elect Donald Trump, the New York Democrat praised her for her “historic candidacy” that “inspired millions.” ELECTION NIGHT WINNERS AND LOSERS: 2024 EDITION “Her advocacy on many issues — from lower costs, more affordable housing, and a fairer tax system — will continue to have strong impacts on America and on our party,” he said. Schumer noted that there were several outstanding Senate races across the country, such as those in Pennsylvania, Nevada and Arizona. “As we await the final tallies in elections across the country, Senate Democrats remain committed to our values and to working with our Republican colleagues to deliver for the American people,” he added. MITCH MCCONNELL SINGS TRUMP CAMPAIGN PRAISES: ‘SHARPER OPERATION THIS TIME’ As voters trended toward Republicans across the country on Tuesday night, the GOP was quickly projected to take back control of the Senate. The conference picked up seats in West Virginia, Montana and Ohio and didn’t lose any incumbents. FOX NEWS DECISION DESK PROJECTS GOP TAKES BACK SENATE MAJORITY IN DEVASTATING BLOW TO DEMS Democrats did manage to re-elect Sen. Tammy Baldwin, D-Wis., despite Trump winning the blue-wall state of Wisconsin. Rep. Elissa Slotkin, D-Mich., also won the open Senate seat in Trump-won Michigan, which is being vacated by Sen. Debbie Stabenow, D-Mich. However, both of the races were much closer than predicted by polling, with Democrats pulling off victories by very close margins. FOX NEWS PROJECTS TRUMP BEATS HARRIS IN WISCONSIN, FLIPPING ‘BLUE WALL’ STATE BACK TO RED While Republicans will have at least a 52-member majority, they won’t have the necessary 60 votes to overcome the legislative filibuster, which could make executing Republican and Trump administration priorities difficult without Democrat support. Moderate Republican Sens. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, and Susan Collins, R-Maine, could present additional obstacles on certain issues. Get the latest updates from the 2024 campaign trail, exclusive interviews and more at our Fox News Digital election hub.
Rep. Thomas Massie ‘willing to help’ Trump, but hasn’t received ‘commitments or offers’ from the Trump team
Republican Rep. Thomas Massie of Kentucky — who has previously suggested that he could help the nation by serving as secretary of agriculture — said in a post on X that while he would be willing to assist President-elect Donald Trump with his agenda, he has not received a commitment or offer from the Trump team. “President Trump’s resounding victory secured a mandate for big ideas like reversing chronic disease, conserving our land, and empowering American farmers. His campaign unified many neglected constituencies, from the Amish who just want to be left alone to grow healthy food, to parents who want more access to nutritious food for their families,” Massie said in a post on X. “I stand ready and willing to help the President with any part of his bold agenda to focus on the health and well-being of Americans, but I have received no commitments or offers from President Trump’s team, and any discussion of the transition are premature,” he added. GOP REP. THOMAS MASSIE, ONCE TARGETED BY TRUMP, GIVES FORMER PRESIDENT ‘FULL ENDORSEMENT’ Massie has previously indicated that he would be interested in serving as secretary of agriculture. “I think I could do some good for this country as Secretary of Agriculture, for any president,” he tweeted in July. Massie issued a statement on Friday, Oct. 25, in which he endorsed Trump for president. On Sunday, Oct. 27, Massie told Fox News Digital in a statement that he had spoken with Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Trump. Trump has said that he will let Kennedy “go wild” on health, food and medicine. “President Trump has asked me to do three things,” Kennedy noted in a post on X, explaining that those items include tackling “corruption in our government health agencies,” restoring them to “evidence-based science,” and “ending the chronic disease epidemic.” TRUMP PUSH TO DISMANTLE EDUCATION DEPARTMENT MET WITH ENTHUSIASM IN HOUSE GOP Massie, who describes himself on X as an engineer, farmer, and inventor, has called for reforming the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, the U.S. Department of Agriculture, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. “End corruption in government. Reform FDA, USDA, and CDC, so people have real choices and honest information, uncorrupted by corporate influence,” he tweeted in September. The congressman, who has served in the House for more than a decade, secured another term during the 2024 election. KENTUCKY REP. THOMAS MASSIE SHARES UPDATE AFTER WIFE’S PASSING: ‘STILL DEVASTATED’ Last year, he endorsed Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis for president, before DeSantis launched his bid for the GOP presidential nomination. DeSantis dropped out and endorsed Trump in January 2024. Fox News Digital reached out to Rep. Massie for comment on Thursday but did not receive a response.
Virginia Rep. Gerry Connolly announces cancer diagnosis 2 days after winning re-election
Rep. Gerald “Gerry” Connolly, D-Va., announced two days after winning re-election that he has esophageal cancer. In an “open letter to constituents,” Connolly called the diagnosis he learned about “a few days ago” a “surprise,” adding that aside from “some intermittent abdominal aches and pains,” he had no symptoms. The politician said he would begin chemotherapy and immunotherapy right away. “I will attack this the only way I know how – with Irish fight and humor,” he said, adding that he “may be a bit fatigued due to the treatment” while he does his job in his district and on Capitol Hill. COLLEGE STUDENTS AT LIBERTY UNIVERSITY IN VIRGINIA MAKE ‘HUGE LINE’ TO VOTE IN PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION: VIDEO Connolly is currently serving his eighth term in the U.S. House of Representatives from Virginia’s 11th District, according to his online biography. His district is centered in Fairfax County and includes the wealthy suburbs outside the nation’s capital. The 74-year-old won his ninth House term by defeating Republican Mike Van Meter, a Navy veteran and former FBI agent. VIRGINIA AG SAYS SCOTUS VOTER ROLLS RULING IS WIN FOR ‘COMMON SENSE’ Connolly has been a fixture in northern Virginia politics for roughly 30 years. He was first elected as a Fairfax County supervisor in 1995. In Congress, he has played a leading role in oversight investigations. While the Senate is now controlled by Republicans, the House is now tightly divided while the wait continues for more election results. “Be assured I’m full of hope and am sustained by the love, support, and encouragement of my family, friends, and of all of you,” Connolly said in the letter. “My wonderful staff and I look forward to serving you all in this new term and in the future. It is a privilege to represent and serve each and every one of you. See you on the hustings.” Fox News’ Chad Pergram and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Giuliani set to appear in New York City courtroom after missing deadline to turn over assets
Rudy Giuliani is set to appear in a New York City courtroom Thursday in connection to his defamation case to explain why he has yet to surrender his belongings as part of the judgment. U.S. District Judge Lewis Liman issued the order on Monday after plaintiffs Ruby Freeman and her daughter, Wandrea “Shaye” Moss, reported to the court that Giuliani had cleared out his apartment when representatives of theirs visited the premises. Liman had initially set Oct. 29 as the deadline for Giuliani to surrender his possessions to Freeman and Moss’ representatives. The judge then ordered Giuliani and his lawyers to appear in court on Thursday. The status conference was initially set to be by phone but was then switched to an in-person appearance. In a letter to the court filed on Monday, Freeman and Moss’ attorney wrote that the plaintiff’s representatives had visited Giuliani’s apartment on Oct. 31 after getting access the previous day. Upon arriving, they found the apartment had been cleared out four weeks prior. RUDY GIULIANI ORDERED TO PAY $148 MILLION AS DEFAMATION TRIAL WRAPS UP “Save for some rugs, a dining room table, some stray pieces of small furniture and inexpensive wall art, and a handful of smaller items like dishes and stereo equipment, the Apartment has been emptied of all of its contents,” the filing read. Freeman and Moss filed another letter Tuesday after receiving reports of Giuliani driving his Mercedes-Benz in Palm Beach, Florida, that was ordered to be turned over to the plaintiffs one week prior, according to court documents filed. RUDY GIULIANI FILES FOR CHAPTER 11 BANKRUPTCY AFTER BEING ORDERED TO PAY $148M “This latest revelation indicates that he either does not understand those obligations or, more likely, is knowingly disregarding them,” the filing read. Ted Goodman, Giuliani’s spokesperson, told Fox News Digital: “Opposing counsel, acting either negligently or deliberately in a deceptive manner, are simply attempting to further bully and intimidate Mayor Giuliani until he is rendered penniless and homeless. This is just another way that they’ve weaponized our once-sacred justice system. It should concern each and every American.” “Mayor Giuliani has made available his property and possessions as ordered. A few items were put into storage over the course of the past year and anything else removed was related to his two livestream programs that stream each and every weeknight across his social media platforms,” Goodman said. ARIZONA AG CONFIRMS RUDY GIULIANI SERVED IN ELECTIONS CASE AMID FORMER TRUMP ASSOCIATE’S 80TH BIRTHDAY PARTY Giuliani had been ordered to pay $148,169,000 to Freeman and Moss after he falsely accused them of committing election fraud in the 2020 election. Both Freeman and Moss were formerly Georgia election workers. The former New York City mayor and former personal lawyer to President-elect Trump was on trial for the defamation suit in Washington, D.C., which wrapped up late last year. U.S. District Judge Beryl Howell had already awarded default judgment to Freeman and Moss in August. His possessions include his $5 million Upper East Side apartment, a 1980 Mercedes, his television and luxury watches. The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Federal military draft agency reposts message suggesting US is becoming 1936 Nazi Germany: report
The federal agency responsible for registering Americans for a military draft if the need arises reposted a message suggesting that the U.S. is becoming 1936 Nazi Germany, reports say. The post shared by the Selective Service System on its X account Wednesday said, “For all you stupid f—s out there that still believe military service will be voluntary. Remember Germany 1936,” according to the New York Post. A CBS News reporter also flagged the repost, writing on X, “What’s going on with the @SSS_gov (Selective Service) X account?” For more than an hour, the repost remained on the agency’s account, according to the newspaper, before it apparently was taken down. The Selective Service System did not immediately respond Thursday to a request for comment from Fox News Digital. The message comes as Democrats and opponents of Donald Trump in recent weeks have tried to cast the president-elect as the second coming of Nazi leader Adolf Hitler. WALZ REPEATS CLINTON ATTACK THAT TRUMP MADISON SQUARE GARDEN EVENT MIRRORED 1930S NAZI RALLY In the final days of the election, Democratic vice presidential nominee Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz repeated Hillary Clinton’s attack that Trump’s rally at Madison Square Garden in New York City mirrored a 1930s Nazi event. The post reportedly shared by the Selective Service System appears to reference Hitler’s decision in March 1935 to reintroduce military conscription in Germany, in a move the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum says defied the Treaty of Versailles. The following year, Hitler “ordered the German armed forces (Wehrmacht) into the demilitarized Rhineland” region of the country, according to the Museum. HOLOCAUST SURVIVOR BLASTS HARRIS FOR COMPARING TRUMP TO HITLER The Selective Service System says on its website, “While there is currently no draft, registration with the Selective Service System is the most publicly visible program during peacetime that ensures operational readiness in a fair and equitable manner. If authorized by the President and Congress, our Agency would rapidly provide personnel to the Department of Defense while at the same time providing an Alternative Service Program for conscientious objectors. “Federal Law requires nearly all male U.S. citizens and male immigrants, 18 through 25, register with Selective Service,” it adds. “The Fake News Washington Post came up with the ridiculous idea that Donald J. Trump will call for Mandatory Military Service,” Trump wrote on his Truth Social account in June. “The Story is completely untrue. In fact, I never even thought of that idea,” Trump said at the time. Fox News’ Danielle Wallace contributed to this report.
‘Down to the wire’: Steve Scalise predicts House control may be decided today
EXCLUSIVE: Americans could know the balance of power in the House of Representatives as soon as Thursday, House Majority Leader Steve Scalise, R-La., anticipates. The top House Republican spoke with Fox News Digital after his party won commanding victories in the White House and Senate on Election Day. The Fox News Decision Desk projected the GOP having a slight edge over Democrats in the House as of Wednesday afternoon. “I mean, California’s the main state still. You know, in a lot of those close races, our incumbents are leading the way – by small margins, but we knew there would be small margins,” Scalise told Fox News Digital on Wednesday evening. “We also have some seats that we have a chance to flip that are leaning our way, too. So, you know, we’re watching all of them, and they’re coming down the wire. But I think we’ll know by [Thursday], hopefully.” SPEAKER JOHNSON RIPS ‘LACK OF LEADERSHIP’ IN BIDEN ADMIN’S HELENE RESPONSE: ‘ALARMED AND DISAPPOINTED’ Republicans in President-elect Trump’s sphere and elsewhere are “in a great mood” after Tuesday night, Scalise said. “It appears we’re going to hold the House and flip the Senate,” Scalise said. “You know, it’s going to be a rare opportunity within any government to really focus in January on turning this country around.” Scalise already signaled part of what that may look like earlier in the day, when he publicly called for the various prosecutions into Trump to end now that he was re-elected president. He and other Trump allies had long dismissed the criminal probes as a misuse of the federal government, despite some of them leading to grand jury indictments and criminal convictions. Asked if a Republican-led Washington would look to reform the justice system to make such perceived attacks harder, Scalise said, “There needs to be reform.” HOUSE GOP LEADERS RIP ACTBLUE AFTER DEM FUNDRAISING GIANT HIT WITH SUBPOENA “I think this is one of the issues where the public spoke very loudly last night, that they want to end the weaponization of the federal government against political enemies,” Scalise said. The Biden administration has denied the federal investigations into Trump are politically motivated. “President Trump’s made it clear, he’s going to clean house. I think people want to see, you know, in essence, the dirty cops get removed,” Scalise said. “They want to have restored faith in all of these once great agencies. And the American people deserve that, because these agencies need to be focused on doing their job, and that’s to keep Americans safe.” In a further show of confidence that Republicans would win the House, Scalise sent a letter to House Republicans on Wednesday evening announcing he was running for majority leader again. JOHNSON BLASTS DEM ACCUSATIONS HE VOWED TO END OBAMACARE AS ‘DISHONEST’ In the four-page memo, he detailed what the first 100 day goals of a Republican federal government would look like. “Now it is up to us to work closely with Trump to enact legislation that will provide long-term relief and put our country on a sustainable trajectory. In the first 100 days, House Republicans will advance a bold, conservative agenda that will get the economy back on track, lock in low tax rates, and secure our southern border,” he wrote in the letter obtained by Fox News Digital. He pledged Republicans would push through conservative reforms via a process called “reconciliation,” which has been used by both parties in the past to force through significant policy reforms in a budget bill that only needs a simple majority to pass the Senate, instead of the traditional 60-vote threshold.
‘Doomed’: Experts say this crucial campaign decision led to VP Harris’ ‘disastrous’ defeat
Vice President Kamala Harris’ failed presidential bid has political strategists second guessing many of her campaign choices, including her selection of Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz as her running mate. “The choice of Walz was only one of many disastrous mistakes but symptomatic of one larger problem – the Democratic Party leadership is too scared to say no to the hard left progressive wing of the party,” Julian Epstein, longtime Democratic operative and former chief counsel to the House Judiciary Committee, told Fox News Digital. “This hard left opposes commonsense solutions that Gov Shapiro supports – charter schools for example. Or defeating terrorists rather than aping their talking points and positions, which allow them to stay in power and rearm for the next genocidal attack,” Epstein continued. “It’s the hard left progressive wing that looks first to welfare and redistribution rather than economic growth, and to cultural extremism on migration and gender deeply out of touch with the American electorate. Walz was a really bad choice for sure, but their choice was part of a deeper problem.” Rob Bluey, president and executive editor of The Daily Signal, told Fox News Digital that Walz being added to the ticket was a significant error in judgment. HARRIS FORMALLY CONCEDES ONE DAY AFTER TRUMP’S SWEEPING VICTORY “Historically, vice presidents have little impact on a presidential candidate’s fate,” Bluey said. “But in the case of Tim Walz, it proved to be a disastrous decision that doomed Kamala Harris from the moment she made it. Not only was Walz ill-prepared for the national spotlight and media scrutiny, but Harris passed over several better options. Given how little Americans knew about Harris or her policy positions, they were right to question her judgment on this big decision.” Harris faced scrutiny even from some in her own party over her decision to name Walz, who many view as further to the left than she is, rather than a more moderate choice. Prominent Democrat Josh Shapiro, governor of the crucial swing state of Pennsylvania that Trump carried on Tuesday night, was viewed by some as a more practical choice. “One of the things that are top of mind is the choice of Tim Walz as vice presidential candidate,” Harris-Walz surrogate Lindy Li told Fox News senior White House correspondent Jacqui Heinrich at Howard University. “A lot of people are saying tonight that it should have been Josh Shapiro. Frankly, people have been saying that for months.” ‘SHOULD HAVE BEEN JOSH SHAPIRO’: HARRIS’ VP CONTENDERS PASSED OVER FOR WALZ DODGE MASSIVE CAMPAIGN LOSS “I know a lot of people are probably wondering tonight what would have happened had Shapiro been on the ticket,” Li continued. “And not only in terms of Pennsylvania. He’s famously a moderate. So that would have signaled to the American people that she is not the San Francisco liberal that Trump said she was.” Walz was heavily criticized on the campaign trail over questions about his honesty regarding his military service, ties to China, response to the George Floyd riots in 2020, and policy agenda as governor that several Minnesotans who spoke to Fox News Digital described as radical. Firehouse Strategies founding partner Alex Conant told Fox News Digital that while Walz did not help the ticket, the problems were much deeper. “Democrats must have a lot of regrets,” Conant said. “Walz didn’t help the ticket, but he’s not why she lost. VP candidates just don’t matter that much.” “Bigger issues were Trump’s well-run campaign, Biden’s unpopular record, and Harris’ lackluster performance as a candidate – and I’m not sure how she could have changed any of those things.”
Delhi: Air pollution in national capital spike during Chhath Puja, AQI reaches ‘severe’ level
A layer of smog was seen blanketing many areas in the city. Mist or smog is expected to cover the city at night, according to an IMD forecast.
Top Philly Dem torches Harris camp as Dem blame game intensifies
The Democrat blame game in Philadelphia has intensified following Vice President Kamala Harris’ loss to President-elect Trump in the Keystone State, with Harris turning out less voters in Philadelphia compared to former presidents Biden, Clinton and Obama. In an on-camera interview, Fox News spoke to Philadelphia Democrat Party Chairman Bob Brady, who torched the Harris campaign’s get-out-the-vote effort, defended President Biden, and said Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro should have been the vice-presidential pick on the 2024 Democratic ticket. In response, the Harris campaign immediately lashed out against Brady’s comments in a seething statement. They said that the Harris team knocked on more than two million doors in the weekend leading up to Election Day. HARRIS WORLD BLAME GAME BEGINS AFTER CRUSHING LOSS TO TRUMP Brady, a former congressman, tells Fox News that the Harris campaign was only in touch with the local coordinating campaign, which his team worked alongside. “But the national campaign, nothing. Zero. They had no respect. They had no coordination. I never even had a conversation with the lady,” Brady said, referring to Harris. “First time ever. I’ve had Joe Biden here many times. He was here for our dinner. I had President Obama here, met with the workers. I had President Clinton here, met with the workers. I had candidate Clinton here, met with the workers, [the Harris campaign] never met with us.” Brady acknowledged that the campaign had a hectic schedule but said even a short Zoom call with volunteers would have given them “a little bit of a pop,” but that never materialized. “And then they didn’t even do the right thing as far as giving us the resources that we need,” Brady added. “And they want to blame us. And now I understand someone… was blaming Joe Biden. Can you imagine blaming Joe Biden for her loss? She lost. He didn’t lose.” Politico reported last month that top Democrats in Pennsylvania were raising concerns that the Harris campaign operation was being poorly run in the nation’s biggest battleground state. Pennsylvania Democratic elected officials, party leaders and allies told the outlet that some Harris aides lack relationships with key party figures, particularly in Philadelphia and its suburbs. They also complained they had been left out of events and surrogates had not been deployed effectively. LIBERALS FUME ON SOCIAL MEDIA AS FOX NEWS PROJECTS TRUMP WINNING PRESIDENCY: ‘WHAT IS F—ING HAPPENING’ Brady said the way the campaign was run in Philadelphia was symptomatic of how the Harris campaign ran its operations nationwide. “It kind of seems that way, don’t it. I mentioned our collar counties, they didn’t give them any respect. They were screaming and hollering for signs. They didn’t get them to the last minute, we didn’t get them to the last minute and I think that’s indicative throughout the whole country and the vote shows it. It does show it,” Brady. Brady said that when help did arrive in Philadelphia it was made up of volunteers arriving from other parts of the country who didn’t relate with locals. “They got a clipboard, they knock on the door, drop literature and take off. They don’t say, ‘How’s mom? How’s your dad? How’s your kids doing?’” Brady said. “That’s more important, it’s the human touch when you have your committee people doing it in the neighborhoods where they live in. He says the campaign should have reached out to experienced operatives on the ground to find out what help and resources they needed. “Ask us for our help. We know how to do this. It’s not our first campaign. It may have been hers, but it’s not ours. And she got thrust in the last minute. Okay, well, then come to us. We’ll tell you what we need to get done. How [do we have] to do it? And that didn’t happen,” Brady said. Brady says that it was a mistake for President Biden to drop out of the race and believes he would have performed better than Harris had he remained on the ticket. POLLSTER ANN SELZER ‘REVIEWING DATA’ AFTER SETTING OFF MEDIA FIRESTORM WITH IOWA POLL SHOWING HARRIS AHEAD “I think we would have been better with Joe Biden. I think that he would have done a better job. And it shows differently to 2020 to 2024 how his margins were much higher than hers throughout the country.” “He had one bad debate. Obama had a bad debate. Fetterman had a bad debate. He would have overcome that because he spoke many times. Later, he came to a cocktail party with what maybe a thousand people. He spoke great. I was with him Friday at the union, he spoke great,” Brady said of President Biden. “And now to blame him, to actually have somebody blaming him for her loss… How about the candidate? Maybe there’s something wrong there.” Brady also found it baffling that Harris chose Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz over Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro as her running mate and says that the decision cost her the state as well as other states. “We would have won Pennsylvania and maybe would have won other parts of the state, other parts of the country, because he would have been out there campaigning in other parts of the country,” Brady said. “He’s a great campaigner. He’s articulate. He looks good. He talks good. Everybody likes him. He would [have done] a great job as a vice president in Texas, in Omaha, anywhere you take him, he would have been great, let alone we would have got a lock in the state of Pennsylvania.” Harris campaign senior adviser Brendan McPhillips shot back at Brady’s claims and blamed him for not raising enough cash for the campaign’s operations in the city. “The Pennsylvania for Harris team knocked more than two million doors in the weekend leading up to Election Day, which is two million more doors than Bob Brady’s organization can claim to have knocked during his entire tenure as party chairman,” McPhillips said. “No serious person can
8 possible replacements that could be appointed by Ohio’s governor to replace JD Vance’s Senate seat
Ohio Sen. JD Vance’s new position as vice president-elect leaves an open Senate seat in the Buckeye State, where the state’s Republican governor will select his replacement from a growing list of possible choices. State law dictates that Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine will select a Republican to take Vance’s spot in the Senate until a special election is held in November 2026 to determine who serves the rest of Vance’s term, which ends in 2028. The winner of that special election will then have to run again in 2028 in order to start a new six-year term. “If Donald Trump is elected, then we will start our process to look at people and talk to people,” DeWine said last week. “Some people have already contacted me. I’ve already met with some people at their request.” DeWine, widely regarded as part of the establishment wing of the Republican Party, is likely to face pressure from Trump loyalists to appoint a candidate in line with Trump’s agenda, while the more moderate wing of the party is likely to push more bipartisan candidates. HERE’S HOW VP-ELECT JD VANCE’S SENATE SEAT WILL BE FILLED The list of potential replacements from President-elect Donald Trump’s world includes former presidential candidate and Ohio native Vivek Ramaswamy, who has previously floated interest in the position. “Donald Trump has cultivated a coalition of outsiders and independent thinkers who will transform the federal government and revitalize our state and country,” Ramaswamy told Fox News Digital on Wednesday. “The best way to determine who and how they impact change won’t be sorted out in the press.” State Sen. Matt Dolan, who ran in the primary against Bernie Moreno and is an ally of Gov. DeWine, has also been suggested to fill the seat. JD VANCE VOWS TO ‘NEVER STOP FIGHTING’ FOR AMERICANS FOLLOWING ELECTION VICTORY Dolan, whose family owns Major League Baseball’s Cleveland Guardians, has served in the Ohio State Senate since 2017 and served in the Ohio House of Representatives for five years before that. Jane Timken, an Ohio attorney who served as chair of the Ohio Republican Party from 2017 to 2021, is another potential Vance replacement. “Ohio is proving to the nation the strength and caliber of leaders we have,” Ohio attorney and political commentator Mehek Cooke told Fox News Digital. “Governor DeWine has a historic opportunity to make lasting change by appointing a highly qualified woman who will not only elevate our state but consistently fight for its people—Jane Timken. As Ohio’s first female GOP Chair, she has demonstrated unwavering leadership, resilience, and a commitment to fairness, never compromising her values in the process.” Other possibilities include Ohio’s Republican Gov. Frank LaRose, who also ran in the primary against Moreno, along with the state’s Republican Attorney General Dave Yost. “I’m always ready to answer the call of duty, but I’m also focused right now on doing the job Ohioans hired me to do,” LaRose told Fox News Digital on Wednesday. “We delivered another secure, accurate and accessible election for Ohio voters, and that work continues. We need to certify the results on an expedited timeline to accommodate the electoral college meeting next month.” “We’re still working with our boards of elections to process absentee ballots and help voters cure provisional ballots. We’ve got a potential recount in one congressional district race. We’re also not letting up the pressure on the Biden administration to give us the federal citizenship records we need to ensure the accuracy of Ohio’s voter rolls. There’s a lot to be done. I know Governor DeWine has an important decision to make, and I’m confident he’ll do what’s in the best interest of Ohio.” Ohio’s Republican Lt. Gov. Jon Husted is also believed to be in the mix. A source familiar with Ohio politics told Fox News Digital that Husted is the most formidable Republican candidate statewide after delivering on key issues and that he is focused on the governorship but has publicly said he aims to remain in public service as long as he is wanted. Yost, who WCMH-TV reported would not accept the position, told Fox News Digital in an interview this summer that he believes Husted would be an “excellent choice.” Two Republicans currently serving in Congress, Rep. Mike Carey and Warren Davidson, are believed to be options as well. Carey, who has strong relationships with both Trump and DeWine, reached out to DeWine shortly after Vance was selected, a source familiar with the discussion said this summer. “While Congressman Carey is honored to be mentioned for the role, his focus is first and foremost on serving the people of Ohio’s Fifteenth Congressional District,” Carey Communications Director Theresa Braid told Fox News Digital. DeWine press secretary Dan Tierney told Fox News Digital that the timing of the governor’s announcement will depend on when Vance officially vacates his Senate seat and that the governor plans to appoint a “workhorse.” Tierney said DeWine will be looking for someone who is “qualified and ready to earn the trust of Ohio voters for another term.” Tierney pointed to the fact that DeWine served in the Senate for 12 years himself and would hope the appointee would be ready to do the “hard work” of pushing legislation and “reaching across the aisle.” Fox News Digital’s Liz Elkind contributed to this report.