COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) -- Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine is expected to announce on Friday Lt. Gov. Jon Husted will replace J.D. Vance in Congress' upper chamber, as the former senator readies for his inauguration as vice president.  Two sources with knowledge of the decision told NBC News Husted's announcement is scheduled to come during a 1 p.m. news conference at the Ohio Statehouse. While a media notice released this morning doesn't detail what DeWine will discuss, the governor said to reporters on Thursday that his Senate appointment decision will be announced "not too much later." Watch the press conference beginning at 1 p.m. in the video player above. The governor will announce Husted's appointment in the wake of Vance's 2024 White House victory alongside President-elect Donald Trump, who will be sworn in at the Capital on Jan. 20. Now, Husted will serve in the Senate until a November 2026 special election, where Ohioans will then vote on who will complete Vance's term, which runs through 2028. Husted was raised in northwest Ohio’s Williams County and earned his bachelor's and master's degrees from the University of Dayton, where he was an All-American defensive back for the Flyers. Husted went on to serve as Speaker of the Ohio House, a state senator and as Ohio Secretary of State, and was elected lieutenant governor in 2018.  DeWine previously told NBC4 he had several conversations with prospective candidates, but stayed tight-lipped about who he was considering. Husted had emerged as a frontrunner, while other candidates in the mix included former Senate candidate Jane Timken, Secretary of State Frank LaRose, Treasurer Robert Sprague, state Sen. Matt Dolan and Attorney Mehek Cooke.  While speaking to reporters on Thursday after announcing a new Pickaway County defense manufacturing facility, DeWine said, "The person I pick is going to really understand Ohio and be an advocate for Ohio." "This is a huge job, it's a very important job. It's particularly important at this period in our history," the governor said. "This is a perilous time, as far as our national defense and as far as our foreign policy. This is something that we look, frankly, to U.S. Senators to focus on. Whoever I pick, will have to be focused on that."  When asked before November's election if Husted would be interested in replacing Vance, the lieutenant governor told NBC4 the Trump-Vance ticket needed to secure a victory first. When NBC4 followed-up and asked again on Jan. 8, Husted said, "We're considering all of the options. And, you know, just it's really all I have to say." Ohio billionaire Vivek Ramaswamy was also rumored to be interested, but initially removed himself from consideration shortly after the November election. However, a Washington Post report on Jan. 15 revealed Trump was encouraging Ramaswamy to take the seat.  Born in Cincinnati, Ramaswamy is also believed to be eyeing a 2026 gubernatorial run. However, DeWine has long voiced support for Husted's own campaign for the governor's mansion, saying he would "be a great governor" when asked if Husted could replace Vance. Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost was also thought to be under consideration, but posted a video on social media in November that signaled his intention to run for governor.  Vance stepped down from his seat on Jan. 9, marking the end of a two-year run serving as Ohio's junior senator after he beat Democratic challenger Tim Ryan in 2022 to fill the vacancy left by former Republican Sen. Rob Portman.  A venture capitalist known for authoring the 2016 memoir-turned-Netflix-movie "Hillbilly Elegy," Vance was propelled to victory in a crowded Ohio Senate primary in 2022 after receiving Trump’s highly-coveted endorsement. The 40-year-old will be the first vice president from Ohio, and was the first vice presidential candidate from Ohio since 1944. As a senator, the Middletown native touted himself as a defender of Trump's "Make America Great Again" agenda, aiming to reverse the Biden administration's "needless spending" and double down on securing the U.S.-Mexico border.