Tom Zawistowski, president of the We the People Convention, is not confident that Ohio Governor Mike DeWine will appoint a MAGA Republican to Ohio U.S. Senator JD Vance’s seat once he is sworn in as U.S. Vice President on January 20, 2025.
Among the names reportedly being considered to succeed Vance as Ohio U.S. Senator include former Ohio Republican Party Chair Jane Timken, State Senator Matt Dolan (R-Chagrin Falls), and Republican lawyer Mehek Cooke.
Zawistowski, who has been part of the Tea Party movement for nearly 20 years advocating for conservative values, said DeWine’s shortlist of reported candidates to fill Vance’s seat is “frustrating” given that Ohio, for the past three election cycles, has shows strong support for Trump and MAGA Republicans.
“The frustration, for those of us who’ve been in this movement for 16 years and have fought so hard – remember, Donald Trump won Ohio three elections in a row and won by the biggest margin this time ever – and yet, it’s not like Governor DeWine is concerned about who we want, that we want a real MAGA person to replace JD Vance. Instead, he’s going through his Rolodex of people like Matt Dolan the State Senator from Cleveland and Jane Timken, the former chair of the Ohio Republican Party,” Zawistowski explained on Monday’s edition of The Michael Patrick Leahy Show.
“It’s not our people,” Zawistowski added.
If it were up to him, Zawistowski said Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose would be a favorable choice among MAGA Republicans to represent Ohio in the U.S. Senate.
“The guy that I think really should get consideration but won’t is Frank LaRose, the secretary of state. He won’t be considered, but he’s probably the most MAGA person with a statewide reputation which really helps when you run for reelection,” Zawistowski noted.
The individual appointed by DeWine to fill Vance’s seat will serve until a special election is held in 2026. If elected, that individual will go on to serve a full six-year term in the U.S. Senate.
To this, Zawistowski noted that the individual appointed to the U.S. Senate seat must be able to defend the seat with just two years at the job.
“The person you appoint to this position is going to have to be able to defend it and that’s going to be no easy task,” Zawistowski said.
Watch the full interview:
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Kaitlin Housler is a reporter at The Ohio Star and The Star News Network. Follow Kaitlin on X / Twitter.
Photo “Gov Mike DeWine” by Gov. Mike DeWine.
