Vice President-elect JD Vance is expected to resign his U.S. Senate seat at some point next month so that he can be sworn into his new position. At that point, Republican Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine's appointee will fill his vacant Senate seat.

DeWine recently joined Vance and President-elect Donald Trump for dinner at Trump's Mar-a-Lago resort along with a top contender to be Vance's replacement, Lt. Gov. Jon Husted, Fox News reported.

Whoever DeWine ultimately picks would serve until a special election is held in 2026 for voters to decide who will fill out the remainder of Sen. Vance's term that expires after 2028.

DeWine considering several possible contenders

Local Cleveland ABC affiliate WEWS reported this week that Ohio Gov. DeWine and Lt. Gov. Husted traveled down to Florida to meet with President-elect Trump and VP-elect Vance at Mar-a-Lago, likely in relation to the governor's impending appointment of a replacement for Vance in the U.S. Senate.

The outlet noted that Husted has emerged as the frontrunner to be selected, according to dozens of Ohio GOP insiders, even though it was previously widely believed that Husted was the leading contender to replace the term-limited DeWine as governor in the next election cycle.

DeWine has not given any clear indication of who he plans to pick, though he has dropped some broad hints about certain attributes he's looking for, and Husted likely isn't alone among possible candidates under consideration.

Other probable contenders include Ohio GOP Chair Jane Timken, Ohio Treasurer Robert Sprague, State Rep. Jay Edwards, Ohio Sec. of State Frank LaRose, and State Sen. Matt Dolan, among others.

Several members of Ohio's delegation to the U.S. House are said to have expressed interest in replacing Vance in the U.S. Senate, but they seem unlikely choices as DeWine has indicated he probably won't select any sitting members of Congress given the exceptionally slim majority control Republicans have in the chamber.

Democrats expected to try to win seat back in 2026

CBS News reported last month that whoever Gov. DeWine appoints to replace VP-elect Vance will serve until mid-December 2026, at which point the winner of a special election a month prior will take over to serve out the final two years of Vance's term that began with his 2022 election, with the election cycle reverting to normal in 2028.

To be sure, DeWine's appointee will likely have the inside track among Republicans toward winning the 2026 special election, but Democrats will undoubtedly make an attempt to reclaim one of Ohio's seats in the Senate.

Recently defeated Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-OH) could attempt to launch a comeback return, but other possibilities include Rep. Tim Ryan (D-OH) and State Rep. Allison Russo, who is the Democratic Leader in Ohio's House.

Unknown exactly when Vance will formally resign

The Columbus Dispatch reported earlier this month that Gov. DeWine told reporters of his search for a replacement for VP-elect Vance, "I've interviewed a number of people, talked to a number of people."

"A lot of people want to be senator -- quite an amazing number. We've had some contact with us about that. A lot of people have opinions around the state. So we're in the process of reaching a decision," he added.

It is unclear when Vance will formally resign his Senate seat before he is sworn in for his new role during the Jan. 20 inauguration, but the Dispatch noted that he is expected to initially remain in the Senate at the start of the next term so that he can cast votes to confirm some of President-elect Trump's Cabinet nominees.