Who is Jon Husted, recently appointed as senator? From Dayton-area start to national stage

Non-political life

Husted began life in a foster home before being adopted by his parents and raised as the oldest of three children in Williams County in northwestern Ohio, according to a biography on the Ohio Governor’s website. He graduated from Montpelier High School.

For college, Husted attended the University of Dayton, both for his bachelor’s degree and master’s degree. While there, he played football for the Dayton Flyers as an All-American defensive back, and was a member of the 1989 Division III National Championship team, the biography said.

After graduating, Husted decided to remain in the Miami Valley.

Husted is married to his wife Tina, and has three children named Alex, Katie and Kylie.

Southwest Ohio political career

After his graduation from UD, Husted served full-time as Vice President of Business and Economic Development for the Dayton Area Chamber of Commerce from 1997 through 2000, according to the chamber.

Starting in 2000, Husted moved to a part-time position as the Executive Director of the Dayton Area Chamber of Commerce Education and Public Improvement Foundation, a position he would hold through 2008.

In 2000, Husted was also elected to Ohio House of Representatives as a Republican representing Kettering, where he served until 2009. During that time, he was twice elected as the Speaker of the House.

After that he served a short term in the Ohio Senate, representing the Dayton-area sixth district.

Statewide political career

In 2011, Husted was elected Ohio Secretary of State, where he served until his election as Lt. Governor in 2019.

During his career as Secretary of State, Husted touted his use of technology to improve service and reduce costs, saying the move allowed him to cut the fee for starting and maintaining a business by 21%, and then run the office entirely without using tax dollars to return the remaining $10 million surplus to the treasury.

Husted has since served as Lt. Governor with Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine, where he currently oversees the Ohio Common Sense Initiative and serves as director of the Governor’s Office of Workforce Transformation and InnovateOhio.

Each of those efforts focuses on Ohio businesses, according to Ohio state government.

The Common Sense Initiative reviews proposed regulations to “eliminate burdensome regulations that hinder economic growth and job creation.”

The Office of Workforce Transformation works to “identify the needs of Ohio businesses and align workers' skills with those needs”.

InnovateOhio is an attempt to modernize state government using technology to streamline processes and improve customer experience.

National government

Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine picked Husted to fill a vacant seat in the U.S. Senate left by Vice President-elect JD Vance. He is guaranteed the spot in the Senate until at least December 2026, after which he will need to win a special election in Nov. 2026 to retain his seat through the end of the original term.

If he winds that election, he would then face the general election in 2028 for a new term.

While he declined to comment on his stances beyond supporting President-elect Donald Trump’s proposed nominees facing Senate confirmation, Husted is known to be anti-abortion and pro-school choice, and has previously voiced support for Trump’s positions, writing he supported “strengthening border security, curbing inflation, and creating jobs in the heartland.”