DeWine praises lieutenant governor before 2026 race: 'Jon Husted will be a great governor'

As Republicans circle the 2026 governor's race, current GOP Gov. Mike DeWine says one candidate would do an excellent job: Lt. Gov. Jon Husted.

"Jon Husted will be a great governor," DeWine told reporters and editors with the USA TODAY Network Ohio Bureau. "He's been a magnificent lieutenant governor."

The primary is more than two years away, but several prominent Republican politicians, such as Husted and Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost, are interested in the job.

Husted ran for governor in 2017 against DeWine, pitching himself as the more conservative, pro-Second Amendment pick. But DeWine and Husted decided to team up to clear the GOP field and later defeated fellow Republican Mary Taylor, who was lieutenant governor to Gov. John Kasich. They won in November 2018 against Democrat Rich Cordray in a year where Democrats rolled nationally.

Husted has a long history in Ohio politics, serving as lieutenant governor, secretary of state, speaker of the Ohio House of Representatives and a state senator representing part of the Dayton area. DeWine said Husted was a "great partner" in major decisions the administration has made.

But Husted disagreed with DeWine's recent veto of a bill that would restrict the medical care of transgender minors and ban transgender girls from female sports. "Men should not compete in women’s sports," Husted wrote in a post on X, formerly called Twitter. "Permanent medical decisions concerning gender should not be made when you are a child. I hope the SAFE Act will become law in Ohio.”

The Ohio House of Representatives voted to override DeWine's veto and the Senate plans to do the same this week.

Husted has also endorsed former President Donald Trump's 2024 reelection bid. DeWine has not weighed in on the presidential race, telling the USA TODAY Network Ohio Bureau: "I'm going to stay focused on Ohio."

DeWine chuckled when asked about the trend of first-time, "outsider" candidates running for prominent positions. "I'm probably the wrong guy to ask."

But when it comes to the job of governor, experience is important, DeWine said. "I think that experience does matter, experience in dealing with how government works, how government doesn't work."

Jessie Balmert is a reporter for the USA TODAY Network Ohio Bureau, which serves the Columbus Dispatch, Cincinnati Enquirer, Akron Beacon Journal and 18 other affiliated news organizations across Ohio.

This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: DeWine: 'Jon Husted will be a great governor'