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8 possible replacements that could be appointed by Ohio’s governor to replace JD Vance’s Senate seat

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.

Trump’s big tent: President-elect improved on 2020 performance in 4 counties with big minority populations

Trump’s big tent: President-elect improved on 2020 performance in 4 counties with big minority populations

For most of the 2024 presidential campaign, public opinion polls suggested that President-elect Trump had historically strong support from minority voters. Now, the election results prove those surveys right. Thousands of U.S. counties swung rightward compared to 2020, which enabled Trump to overcome his previous deficits with voters and win the national popular vote in 2024 – a feat no Republican has accomplished for 20 years. But four counties in particular highlight Trump’s appeal to constituencies that traditionally have supported Democrats. “Donald Trump improved his standing with Black and Latino voters for one simple reason: He went directly to them and earned their votes,” said Fox News political analyst Gianno Caldwell. “Presidential Republicans usually do not go to areas that aren’t part of their traditional voting bases. Trump won 90% plus Latino counties, and he has truly put the Republican Party on the map as a multicultural party.” FOX NEWS VOTER ANALYSIS: HOW TRUMP REGAINED THE WHITE HOUSE Hispanics account for 45% of residents in Passaic County, in northern New Jersey. Trump won the county with nearly 50% of the vote, improving his 2020 performance by a whopping nine percentage points. The results shocked Democrats, since the party’s 2016 nominee Hillary Clinton won there with 74% of the vote.  Trump’s victory was more pronounced in Starr County, Texas, formerly a Democratic stronghold on the border with Mexico, where Hispanics make up 97% of all residents. Trump flipped the county for the first time in 132 years, winning with about 57.7% of the vote, according to the Associated Press. It was a similar story in traditionally Democratic Osceola County, where Trump won 50% of the vote compared to Vice President Kamala Harris’ 48%. Located in central Florida, just south of Disney World, Osceola is 56% Latino. Voters there told FOX 35 Orlando that Trump appealed to them because of their focus on economic issues. HOW KAMALA HARRIS’ FAILED 2024 PRESIDENTIAL RUN MIRRORS HER ILL-FATED 2020 CAMPAIGN “He appealed to me since day one,” voter Robert Arias said. “I felt like he’s a businessman, and he’ll be able to run our country like a business.” “Trump is a businessman,” agreed Daniel Pedraza. “He’s got guts.”  Trump lost Osceola County to Clinton by 25 points in 2016. President Biden defeated Trump there by 14 points in 2020, FOX 35 reported. But he gained 7 percentage points there in 2024 and flipped it red. TRUMP MAKES GAINS WITH SOME PUERTO RICANS THIS ELECTION DESPITE CONTROVERSIAL ‘GARBAGE’ JOKE A Fox News Voter Analysis showed Trump’s crossover appeal to Democratic constituencies was foundational to his success. He improved on his 2020 numbers among Hispanics (41%, +6 points), Black voters (15%, +7 points), and young voters (46%, +10 points). These rightward shifts were particularly notable among Hispanic men (+8 points), Black men (+12 points), and men under 30 (+14 points) from 2020. Trump’s strength with Black voters was felt in Anson County, North Carolina, where the Republican candidate won there for the first time since the 1970s and only the second time in more than 100 years. Trump received 50.9% of the vote compared to 48.2% for Harris. Black residents make up 47% of the population in Anson County. Overall, Trump improved on his 2020 margin in 2,367 counties nationwide and lost ground in only 240 counties, according to the New York Times.  “Because of him, Republicans now have a chance to truly compete for the Black vote, and because of him, it appears that the GOP will have the Senate, the House and the White House,” Caldwell said. The Fox News Polling Unit contributed to this report.

Newsom says he will work with Trump, but issues warning: ‘Let there be no mistake’

Newsom says he will work with Trump, but issues warning: ‘Let there be no mistake’

California Gov. Gavin Newsom responded for the first time to President-elect Trump’s victory over Vice President Harris in the 2024 presidential election, saying he’ll work with Trump but not without issuing a warning. Newsom shared his remarks on social media Wednesday, expressing that a second Trump presidency is “not the outcome we wanted,” but the “fight for freedom and opportunity endures.” “.@KamalaHarris set out to fight to defend our fundamental freedoms and build a country that works for everyone. She stood up for working families, decency, and opportunity,” Newsom wrote. “California will seek to work with the incoming president – but let there be no mistake, we intend to stand with states across our nation to defend our Constitution and uphold the rule of law.” He continued: “Federalism is the cornerstone of our democracy. It’s the United STATES of America.” HARRIS WORLD BLAME GAME BEGINS AFTER CRUSHING LOSS TO TRUMP Newsom’s star power within the Democratic Party is expected to rise following the defeat of Harris, Dan Schnur, a teacher of political communications at University of Southern California, UC Berkeley and Pepperdine, told the Los Angeles Times. “Newsom is going to lead the resistance government for the next two years as governor, and then after that, he is a very prominent and nationally recognized party leader,” Schnur told the newspaper. Newsom has previously been asked about his own potential presidential prospects during the 2024 election cycle. Voters in California, however, voted to get tough on crime, approving Proposition 36 despite Newsom opposing the ballot initiative. NATHAN HOCHMAN OUSTS EMBATTLED LIBERAL PROSECUTOR GEORGE GASCON AS LA COUNTY DA AMID CRIME CONCERNS Proposition 36 will crack down on theft and drug trafficking in a state that has been battered by crime for years. Ahead of the vote, Newsom said: “Prop 36 takes us back to the 1980s, mass incarceration — it promotes a promise that can’t be delivered.”  Voters disagreed as crime has spiraled in California in recent years, most notably in 2021 and 2022, when smash-and-grab crimes hit a fever pitch in the state. Criminals were repeatedly caught on camera storming high-end department stores with crowbars and other weapons in order to smash display cases before stealing merchandise and fleeing.  Fox News Digital’s Elizabeh Pritchett and Emma Colton contributed to this report.

Bernie Sanders excoriates Democratic Party, calls campaign ‘disastrous’ after Trump victory

Bernie Sanders excoriates Democratic Party, calls campaign ‘disastrous’ after Trump victory

Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., excoriated the Democratic Party in the wake of Donald Trump’s 2024 presidential election victory. The left-wing lawmaker, who is listed as a member of the Senate Democratic caucus, accused the party of abandoning the working class. “It should come as no great surprise that a Democratic Party which has abandoned working class people would find that the working class has abandoned them. First, it was the white working class, and now it is Latino and Black workers as well,” Sanders said in the statement. THE ‘SQUAD,’ WARREN AND SANDERS AMONG PROMINENT POLITICAL FIGURES WHO CRUISED TO RE-ELECTION VICTORIES “While the Democratic leadership defends the status quo, the American people are angry and want change. And they’re right,” he continued. Trump decisively defeated Vice President Kamala Harris in the 2024 presidential election, winning key swing states including Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, and Michigan. Sanders characterized Harris’ campaign as “disastrous.” SEN. BERNIE SANDERS DEFENDS MASSIVE COVID SPENDING: ‘I DON’T APOLOGIZE’ “Will the big money interests and well-paid consultants who control the Democratic Party learn any real lessons from this disastrous campaign?” he asked.  “Will they understand the pain and political alienation that tens of millions of Americans are experiencing?” he added. “Do they have any ideas as to how we can take on the increasingly powerful oligarchy which has so much economic and political power? Probably not.” While Republicans won the Senate majority in the 2024 elections, the 83-year-old Sanders, who has served in the chamber since 2007, just won another six-year-term. HOW KAMALA HARRIS’ FAILED 2024 PRESIDENTIAL RUN MIRRORS HER ILL-FATED 2020 CAMPAIGN “Unbelievably, real, inflation-accounted-for weekly wages for the average American worker are actually lower now than they were 50 years ago,” he said in the statement. “Today, despite an explosion of technology and worker productivity, many young people will have a worse standard of living than their parents.” “Today, despite spending far more per capita than other countries, we remain the only wealthy nation not to guarantee health care to all as a human right and we pay, by far, the highest prices in the world for prescription drugs. We, alone among major countries, cannot even guarantee paid family and medical leave,” he asserted. “Today, despite strong opposition from a majority of Americans, we continue to spend billions funding the extremist Netanyahu government’s all out war against the Palestinian people which has lead to the horrific humanitarian disaster of mass malnutrition and the starvation of thousands of children,” the senator declared in the statement. Sanders noted in a tweet this week that he was “proud” to vote for Harris.