COLUMBUS, Ohio — The race is on to replace Vice President-elect JD Vance in the Senate, but top GOP strategists tell The Post there are only two real candidates left: Jane Timken and Vivek Ramaswamy.

Timken, a Harvard-educated lawyer and chairman of the Ohio Republican Party, is a slight favorite in the eyes of Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine, sources familiar with his decision say.

The deciding factor will be President-elect Donald Trump. If he decides to pressure DeWine and ask him to nominate a bigger Make America Great Again candidate, Ramaswamy will win the seat, sources say. But while the decision remains in DeWine’s notoriously moderate hands, experts say Timken has everything sorted.

“It’s a good compromise between MAGA and DeWine in my opinion,” a Republican staffer working closely on Ohio’s senatorial transitions told the Post.

The Buckeye GOP’s real fear is Democrat Sherrod Brown returns to challenge the appointee in the special election needed to secure Vance’s seat until it is up for grabs in 2028.

A pick can’t just be a good choice to lead a conservative agenda on the Hill — he or she must also have enough appeal to potentially fend off Brown in a statewide election without Trump in the lead list.

“It’ll be Vivek,” a GOP insider told the Post from Miami University in Ohio. “DeWine is not going to like it, but Trump is going to make the decision. And DeWine will take that call.

DeWine is not a “MAGA guy” and Ramaswamy This is the case, but ultimately the sole and future prez has the last word, this source insists.

DeWine may be an incumbent governor in 2026 with no more elections to run, but that doesn’t mean Trump and the new GOP can’t tug at his heart (or purse) strings.

Unless he wants to spend the next two years (or more) monitoring every candidate he supports in the primaries, every budget item he wants to cut, and every veto overridden by the Trump loyalists who control the legislature. ‘Ohio, he has to play ball with the commander in chief.

But the governor may still have some time to hammer out a deal for Timken with the power brokers in Trump’s Republican Party.

“I’m way too superstitious to think about it right now,” Vance himself told reporters. when asked about his replacement on election day.

“This looks like a January 21st problem,” Vance’s newly elected Senate colleague Bernie Moreno said at an event featuring Ramaswamy last month. “It’s not for today.”

Both men declined to comment for this story, as did Ramaswamy himself.

The 39-year-old CEO, born and raised in Cincinnati, founded a successful technology company and published a widely read book about woke business before embarking on an ultimately unsuccessful bid for president this cycle. It corresponds to Trump’s “GOP 2.0” model and the new republicans are after: he appeals to young voters, he’s financially focused in terms of policy, and he’s a successful business leader who has spent little to no time in the swamps of Washington, DC – just like Vance and Moreno.

“What has happened in America, and what we are going to do about it, is the greatest demasculization in American history,” Ramaswamy said at a college campaign event for Moreno last month. “It starts with our economy. The first generation who will pay into systems like Social Security and not get paid is sitting before me today.”

Joining Ramaswamy and Timken further down the prospect list is Ohio’s traditional boys club of familiar names.

• Lieutenant Governor Jon Husted: Husted is an experienced politician with the kind of notoriety that would help the GOP win a special election. But most experts believe Husted has his sights set on becoming governor in 2026 with a trip to Capitol Hill.
• Secretary of State Franc The Rose: A military man with strong MAGA roots, LaRose has been the “heavyweight” for Ohio Republicans when it comes to tough issues like election integrity. But some think he’s too conservative to win the special election, especially if Brown, defeated, rises from the ashes.
• Attorney General David Yost: The Ohio AG is a well-respected powerhouse in the state, but he lacks popularity among young voters and women.

Once Vance resigns his Senate seat to begin his transition to the vice presidency, DeWine is required by law to appoint a successor “without delay.” This successor must then win a special election if he wishes to retain his new position for the entire term.

If selected, Ramaswamy or Timken would join Moreno in Washington, where leaders have promised to immediately begin work on introducing tax cuts, helping to expel illegal immigrants. immigrants and “fired” Sen. Chuck Schumer as majority leader.

DeWine’s decision could come any day, but in the wake of Trump’s landslide victory, the sentiment around Columbus has become clear: Whichever name is on the governor’s desk, it’s is Donald Trump who runs this city.