Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine announced Friday that his state’s lieutenant governor, Jon Husted, would fill the Senate seat left vacant by Vice President-elect JD Vance for at least the next two years.

“I came to the conclusion, as you see, that the person who is best suited to be the United States senator is a person who has been close to me for the last six years — a person who, almost daily, I work with,” DeWine said. “And that is Lieutenant Governor John Husted.”

“For decades, Ohioans endured the harsh effects of globalization, automation and complacency, leading to high unemployment and a reputation as being one of the worst states to do business,” Husted said after accepting DeWine’s nomination.

“But today, Ohio stands as one of the best states to do business with more jobs than at any point in our history.”

“Serious times demand serious people,” DeWine, 78, said of his deputy, noting that he “interviewed a large number of people” and the decision “took a while.”

“I will miss this very good man,” he added. “The state of Ohio will miss this excellent lieutenant governor, but we are gaining a strong advocate for us in Washington, DC.”

President-elect Donald Trump had floated Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) co-chair Vivek Ramaswamy for the position after Vance resigned from the Senate last week, a source familiar with the conversations previously told The Post.

“Vivek’s base plan remains the same: To get accomplishments at DOGE and then announce a run for governor shortly,” another source familiar with the billionaire’s thinking added Friday.

The governor said that his pick needed deep state roots, an understanding of “the interaction between the federal government and the state government” and — most of all — “a workhorse.”

“Economic development is something you know that Jon has in his DNA,” DeWine said of Husted’s qualifications. “Jon has been made a major player in getting these companies to come to the state. He’s focused also on energy, broadband, making government more efficient, and I could go on and on.”

Husted served eight years in the Ohio state House — spending half that time as the chamber’s speaker — and another two years in the state Senate before joining then-Gov. John Kasich’s administration as secretary of state in 2011.

He and DeWine were first elected to their posts in 2018 — and both were re-elected four years later.

“When I arrived at the state house as a legislator, Ohio was facing tough times,” Husted said. “We were a high-tax state with a struggling economy. We were watching factories shut down across the state, and even my own family had left Ohio because they needed to find work.”

“In my mind, my mission has always been clear, to ensure that Ohioans have access to good jobs, quality job training, and the opportunity to achieve their version of the American dream,” he added.

Husted later grew emotional as he also discussed his efforts “protecting kids from big tech and online predators,” noting that he himself was adopted and had worked hard to help various foster care initiatives in the state.

Ramaswamy, 39, who previously indicated he was not being considered for the role, was born and raised outside Cincinnati, but made his career in Silicon Valley.

Husted, 57, will serve as the junior senator from Ohio in the Senate until a special election that will be held in 2026 to determine who will serve the remainder of Vance’s term. Another election, to fill the seat for a full six-year term, is due in 2028.

In 2020, Trump pushed for DeWine to face a primary challenge after the first-term governor urged the 45th president to admit defeat in the election to Democrat Joe Biden.

A former senator himself, DeWine worked with Biden, 82, in Congress for 12 years, but said Friday that he wished Trump “all the best” in his second term.

“I really look forward to working with President Trump and Vice President Vance and the Republican majority,” Husted concluded, “who have an America First agenda, to fight inflation, stop illegal immigration, advance conservative values, and that’s what I’ll do, because that’s what the people of Ohio need.”