Congressman-elect George Latimer hadn't even taken the stage at his election night watch party Tuesday night before people started to ask, 'Who's going to replace him as county executive? And how?'

According to sources, Deputy County Executive Ken Jenkins has the inside track come January and the Westchester County Legislature has all but decided to name him interim county executive next year.

The law requires the county Legislature to hold a special election within 90 days of Latimer vacating his office. The special election winner will fill out the remainder of Latimer's term, which runs until the end of next year.

"Ken Jenkins is the deputy county executive, he's clearly well thought of and certainly is a favorite, but I wouldn't prejudge the process," Westchester Legislature Chair Vedat Gashi said.

Ahead of that election, both the county Republican and Democratic parties will hold conventions to pick their nominee.

Jenkins is all but a lock to get the nod for the Democrats while a potential Republican opponent is still unclear.

If elected, Jenkins would become Westchester's first Black county executive. If he got his way, Latimer's deputy would be his replacement but time and time again 11th-hour candidates have entered the race and had success in Westchester.

Jenkins was asked about his future political prospects at Latimer's election night victory party.

"We have work left to do here in Westchester and the kind of person George Latimer has always been, he's going to complete that work, and then the board of legislators will set the administration up," he said.

The position of Westchester County executive is considered one of the most important and influential political jobs in New York state.

That person oversees a county of one million people, doles out a budget of over $2 billion and sets policies that set the tone for the rest of the state. It's also a position that often opens doors to a higher office down the line.

Political insiders and sources said very few names have been floated at this stage of the game about a potential primary challenge to Jenkins if he wins the special election but some expect a well-funded, big-name candidate would likely throw their hat in the ring with such a powerful political office up for grabs.

If Jenkins is challenged he would have to run a second campaign for a June primary within months of winning a spring special election. The winner would likely get a Republican challenger in November meaning a potential third campaign for Jenkins in less than a year.

"The term would be a one-year term to the end of 2025 and so there would be an election in November in '25 as well for the full four-year county executive term," Westchester Democratic Committee Chair Suzanne Burger said at Latimer's election night victory party.

Sources have not identified who from the Republican party might jump in but expect someone to give it a strong go, especially following Tuesday night's results.

Insiders believe the path to replace Latimer will become clearer by the end of the month as the political dust settles from the 2024 election.