Florida Governor Ron DeSantis said he has “already received strong interest from several possible candidates” for the Senate seat vacancy that the state would have if Republican Senator Marco Rubio is confirmed as President-elect Donald Trump’s new Secretary of State.
The Republican governor said the selection will “likely” be made “by the beginning of January.” In Florida, the governor appoints an interim replacement for vacant Senate seats before a special election is held.
“We have already received strong interest from several possible candidates, and we continue to gather names of additional candidates and conduct preliminary vetting,” DeSantis posted to X, formerly known as Twitter. “More extensive vetting and candidate interviews will be conducted over the next few weeks, with a selection likely made by the beginning of January.”
Newsweek has reached out to DeSantis and Rubio for comment.
Senator Marco Rubio is expected to resign from the Senate to assume duties as Secretary of State when the Trump administration takes power on January 20th, creating a vacancy roughly two months from today.
We have already received strong interest from several possible…
— Ron DeSantis (@GovRonDeSantis) November 18, 2024
Rubio has served in the Senate since 2011 and previously served as Speaker of the Florida House of Representatives from 2006 to 2008. He is known for his conservative positions on immigration, foreign policy and the economy.
DeSantis’ appointee can serve until a special election is held—usually around the time of the next general election. Rubio was reelected in 2022, meaning his term is slated to run through 2028. A special election to serve the remainder of the term will be held in 2026 in accordance with state law.
AP Photo/Chris O’Meara
“Florida deserves a Senator who will help President Trump deliver on his election mandate, be strong on immigration and border security, take on the entrenched bureaucracy and administrative state, reverse the nation’s fiscal decline, be animated by conservative principles, and has a proven record of results,” DeSantis wrote.
Two other Republican Florida lawmakers have been tapped by Trump for his new administration as well. Waltz, a retired Green Beret and National Guard colonel representing Florida’s 6th Congressional District has been asked by Trump to serve as national security adviser. Trump has also selected former Representative Matt Gaetz to serve as attorney general, in a shock pick that has even sparked concern from some Republicans.
As for the state’s vacant House seats, dates will be set for a special primary and general elections, and voters will decide who replaces Waltz and Gaetz. The governor does not appoint members of the House to fill vacancies.
Full list of who could replace Marco Rubio
There has been some calls for DeSantis to appoint Lara Trump, the daughter-in-law of the President-elect. Alabama GOP Senator Katie Britt, who was endorsed by Trump while running for her first term in 2022, publicly called for Lara Trump to fill Rubio’s seat in an interview with Axios, saying that Lara “understands the America First agenda.”
Florida Representative Anna Paulina Luna echoed support for Lara Trump in a series of posts on X, writing that Lara “will keep the seat and avoid a messy primary for FLORIDA” in 2026.
According to CBS News’ Jim DeFede, who cited conversations with “multiple Republican sources,” among those top of the list to replace Rubio includes DeSantis’ chief of staff, James Uthmeier, who could serve in the Senate role until a special election can be held to fill the seat. That would give DeSantis a chance to run for the seat himself after the end of his current gubernatorial term.
Florida’s GOP Lieutenant Governor Jeanette Nunez is also reportedly on DeSantis’ list, per DeFede’s reporting. There is also speculation that DeSantis could resign as governor to give Nunez the position, allowing her to appoint him to the open Senate seat before 2026.
Florida Republican Attorney General Ashley Moody appeared on Fox News on November 13 and did not directly answer whether she would be interested in the appointment after being asked twice.
When is DeSantis’ term up?
DeSantis, 46, was first elected in 2018 and started his term in office on January 8, 2019. He was reelected in 2022.
The governor will be ineligible to run again in the next Florida gubernatorial election in 2026. This means he will leave office in January of 2027.
However, DeSantis would be able to run again after someone else has served a full term as governor.
The Florida Constitution says, “No person who has, or but for resignation would have, served as governor or acting governor for more than six years in two consecutive terms shall be elected governor for the succeeding term.”
Who replaces JD Vance in the Senate?
With Trump’s win Senator JD Vance will move into the vice president’s office, leaving another Republican Senate vacancy in Ohio.
Similar to DeSantis’ process, Ohio’s Republican Governor Mike DeWine will pick a replacement for Vance that would likely serve until a special election in 2026 to serve out the remainder of the term through the 2028 election.
Newsweek has reached out to Vance for comment.
AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite
DeWine had told reporters that even before Trump’s win people had contacted him and he met with some at their request.
One prospect in Ohio is Jane Timken, who served as chair of the state Republican Party and ran for Senate in 2022. She ran on an explicitly pro-Trump platform, to the point where she criticized former Republican Governor John Kasich, who she had previously supported.
Another option is GOP Lieutenant Governor Jon Husted is DeWine’s second-in-command and has worked closely with him since 2018. Husted also served in the Ohio state House and Senate before his election to lieutenant governor, meaning he has legislative experience that would suit the Senate well.
A third option rumored is Republican Ohio State Senator Matt Dolan, who has a long track record of public service in the Buckeye State, serving in the state’s House of Representatives since 2005 before becoming a state Senator in 2017. Dolan was defeated by Vance in the Republican Senate primary in 2022 and again in the 2024 primary for the state’s other Senate seat.
