New candidate emerges in crowded field as possible replacement for Vance's Ohio Senate seat

FIRST ON FOX: Republican Gov. Mike DeWine is considering an Ohio attorney and Trump surrogate to fill Vice President-elect JD Vance’s Senate seat once he vacates the position and moves on to the White House, Fox News Digital has learned. 

Attorney Mehek Cooke, a Republican attorney who served as a political and legal surrogate for Trump in 2024, is under consideration to be chosen to fill Vance’s seat, a source familiar with the situation told Fox News Digital. 

Cooke, known as a formidable fundraiser in the state of Ohio, has appeared on Fox News and was a vocal supporter of President-elect Trump during the 2024 campaign, where he won Ohio by 11 points and his endorsement in the state is viewed as carrying a significant amount of weight.

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 will serve 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. 

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Cooke, who ran for Ohio House of Representatives in 2020, spent time as the assistant chief counsel in the Ohio governor's office from 2012 to 2014 and in the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of Ohio, where she handled criminal cases involving corruption, terrorism, drug trafficking, asset forfeiture, and money laundering. 

Cooke, a wife and mother of two, was born in India and immigrated legally to the United States with her family at the age of 5. Cooke is also the founder and President of American Frontier Strategies and has worked as a political consultant and commentator across the state of Ohio. 

Marty Savko, the chair of the earth moving company Savko & Sons which has been in business in Columbus, Ohio for 75 years, told Fox News Digital that Cooke "is totally 100% in touch with both the average man and wife" in Ohio.

"She's a proud American citizen, she's proud of this country and she very much has a kind heart and realizes that not everyone has the same opportunities. She is a firm believer in what's right and what's wrong, and you know where she stands."

"She's not part of a clique like some people get to Washington or even get in the state house here in Ohio, and they become part of a clique, and they vote with the clique. No, she's a person of her own determination and what she feels is the best for everyone involved, and she's honest, extremely honest, extremely forthright."

Savko, a prominent Trump donor, told Fox News Digital that Cooke is a "fighter" in the same mold as the last two senators who have been elected statewide, JD Vance and Bernie Moreno.

Multiple sources close to the situation told Fox News Digital that elevating women is important to DeWine and that he would like to appoint a woman to the seat, although gender is not the deciding factor. 

Republican Jane Timken, an Ohio attorney who served as chair of the Ohio Republican Party from 2017 to 2021, is also widely considered to be another potential Vance replacement. 

Other candidates reportedly in the mix include Ohio’s Republican Secretary of State Frank LaRose, Republican Lt. Gov. Jon Husted, Attorney General Dave Yost, Treasurer Robert Sprague and State Sen. Matt Dolan.

Yost, who has said he wouldn't accept the position, and Husted are believed to be focused on the upcoming governor's race to replace DeWine. Former presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy had been floated as a possibility but he recently accepted a position in the Trump administration and withdrew his name.

Three Republicans currently serving in Congress – Reps. Mike Carey, David Joyce and Warren Davidson – are believed to be options as well. 

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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. 

DeWine, who is viewed as part of the Republican establishment, will face a balancing act of appointing someone highly regarded by both the Trump base of the party and the more moderate wing. 

Sources tell Fox News Digital that the decision from DeWine is likely not imminent and will be announced in line with whenever Vance officially vacates his seat. 

Cooke and a spokesperson for DeWine’s office declined to comment. 

DeWine press secretary Dan Tierney told Fox News Digital earlier this month 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."

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Tierney said that DeWine will be looking for a "workhorse" who is "qualified and ready to earn the trust of Ohio voters for another term."