In the 2022 midterm elections, then-candidate JD Vance won a hard fought U.S. Senate race in Ohio — though he badly underperformed in a red state — and two years ago this week, the Republican began a career on Capitol Hill as a federal lawmaker.
That part of the 40-year-old politician’s career is now over. NBC News reported:
Vice President-elect JD Vance resigned his Senate seat at midnight Thursday, clearing the way for his swearing-in alongside President-elect Donald Trump on Jan. 20. Vance, R-Ohio, notified Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine, who will choose his successor, of his plans in a letter Thursday afternoon.
In a written statement, Vance boasted that voters had issued “an undeniable mandate to put America first, both at home and abroad,” though Republican claims about a “mandate” continue to be at odds with what actually happened in the 2024 elections.
Nevertheless, Vance’s career on Capitol Hill is hardly the stuff of legend: Over the course of two unremarkable years, the Republican passed no bills, led no committees, and failed to play a leadership role on any issues. Trump — the only candidate to ever reach the White House without any experience in public service at any level — tapped him for the GOP ticket anyway. (The Ohioan will soon become the least experienced U.S. vice president in nearly nine decades.)
More recently, the vice president-elect invested some of his political capital into Matt Gaetz’s bid to become the next attorney general, personally escorting the former congressman from Senate office to Senate office, urging his colleagues to confirm Gaetz, and putting his credibility on the line. Soon after, the Florida Republican withdrew from consideration.
As for where things stand with the Senate Republican conference, the new GOP majority in the chamber now stands at 51 seats — though that total will soon reach 53 once West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice resigns his current office and is sworn in, and once Ohio’s Republican governor, Mike DeWine, appoints Vance’s successor on Capitol Hill. Those wondering who the Senate’s newest member will be won’t have to wait too much longer, though NBC News reported this week that DeWine’s lieutenant governor, Jon Husted, has emerged as the leading candidate. Whether it’s Husted or someone else, that appointed GOP senator will serve until Ohio holds a special election for the seat in the 2026 midterms. Former Democratic Sen. Sherrod Brown, who lost a competitive re-election bid a few months ago, has expressed interest in a possible comeback bid next year. Watch this space.
Steve Benen is a producer for "The Rachel Maddow Show," the editor of MaddowBlog and an MS NOW political contributor. He's also the bestselling author of "Ministry of Truth: Democracy, Reality, and the Republicans' War on the Recent Past."
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