By Kanishka Singh

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Republican Vice President-elect JD Vance said on Thursday he will resign from his U.S. Senate seat from Ohio at midnight ahead of his inauguration later this month.

U.S. President-elect Donald Trump and Vance defeated the Democratic presidential candidate, Vice President Kamala Harris, and her running mate, Minnesota Governor Tim Walz, in the Nov. 5 U.S. election.

Vance's Senate seat will now be filled by another person appointed by Republican Ohio Governor Mike DeWine.

Vance's replacement will serve until a special election is held in November 2026. The winner of that election will finish the remainder of Vance's Senate term, which had been set to end January 2029.

In his resignation letter to the Ohio governor, Vance wrote that "it has been a tremendous honor and privilege to serve the people of Ohio in the Senate over the past two years."

Republicans won a narrow majority in the Senate and the House of Representatives in the November elections.