Republican Gov. Mike DeWine is considering an Ohio lawyer and Trump surrogate to fill Vice President-elect JD Vance‘s Senate seat once he vacates the seat and moves on to the White House, Fox Information Digital has learned.
Attorney Mehek Cooke, a Republican lawyer who served as Trump’s political and legal surrogate in 2024, is being considered for selection to fill Vance’s seat, a source familiar with the situation told Fox Information Digital.
Cooke, known as a formidable fundraiser in the state of Ohio, appeared on Fox Information and was a strong supporter of President-elect Trump during the 2024 campaign, where he won Ohio by 11 points and his support in the state is considered to have a positive impact. a significant amount of weight.
State law dictates that Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine will select a Republican to fill Vance’s place in the Senate until a special election is held in November 2026 to determine who will serve the remainder of Vance’s term, which ends in 2028. The winner of that special election The elections will have to be held again in 2028 to begin a new six-year term.
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Ohio attorney and Trump surrogate Mehek Cooke is being considered for Sen. Vance’s seat (Fox Information Digital)
Cooke, who ran for the Ohio House of Representatives in 2020, spent time as deputy 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 with corruption and terrorism. , drug trafficking, asset confiscation and money laundering.
Cooke, a wife and mother of two, was born in India and legally immigrated to the United States with her family at the age of five. Cooke is also founder and president of American Frontier Methods and has worked as a political consultant and commentator around the world. the state of Ohio.
Marty Savko, president of the earthmoving company Savko & Sons, which has operated in Columbus, Ohio, for 75 years, told Fox Information Digital that Cooke “is totally 100% in touch with the average man and woman.” in Ohio.
“She is a proud American citizen, she is proud of this country and she has a very kind heart and realizes that not everyone has the same opportunities. “She firmly believes in right and wrong, and you know where she stands.”
“She’s not part of a clique like some people who come to Washington or even walk into the statehouse here in Ohio, and become part of a clique and vote with the clique. No, she is a person of her own determination and what she feels is best for everyone involved and she is honest, extremely honest, extremely direct.”
Savko, a prominent Trump donor, told Fox Information Digital that Cooke is a “fighter” in the same mold as the last two senators elected at the state level, JD Vance and Bernie Moreno.
Multiple sources close to the situation told Fox Information Digital that elevating women is important to DeWine and that he would like to appoint a woman to the position, 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 as another possible replacement for Vance.
Other candidates reportedly in the mix include Republican Ohio 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 would not accept the job, and Husted are believed to be focused on the upcoming gubernatorial race to replace DeWine. Former presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy had been floated as a possibility, but recently accepted a position in the Trump administration and he withdrew his name.
Three Republicans currently serving in Congress — Reps. Mike Carey, David Joyce and Warren Davidson — are also believed to be options.
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Carey, who has strong relationships with both Trump and DeWine, approached DeWine shortly after Vance was selected, a source familiar with the discussion said this summer.
DeWine, considered part of the Republican establishment, will face a balancing act in appointing someone highly respected by both the base of Trump’s party and the more moderate wing.
Sources tell Fox Information Digital that DeWine’s decision is likely not imminent and will be announced when Vance officially leaves his seat.
Cooke and a spokesman for DeWine’s office declined to comment.
DeWine’s press secretary, Dan Tierney, told Fox Information Digital earlier this month that the timing of the governor’s announcement will depend on when Vance officially leaves his Senate seat and that the governor plans to appoint a “workhorse” .
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Tierney said DeWine will look for a “workhorse” who is “qualified and ready to earn the trust of Ohio voters for another term.”
Andrew Mark Miller is a reporter for Fox Information. Find him on Twitter @andymarkmiller and email tips to [email protected].
