Trump-endorsed Vivek Ramaswamy wins Ohio GOP endorsement for 2026 governor's race
Vivek Ramaswamy, a biotech entrepreneur and former US presidential candidate endorsed by Donald Trump, won the official endorsement of the Ohio Republican Party for governor on Friday. The endorsement gives Ramaswamy a major early advantage heading into the 2026 race and reflects the continued dominance of Trump's influence within the state GOP.Backed strongly by President Trump and his inner circle, Ramaswamy, 39, outmaneuvered more experienced Republican rivals, including Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost and Appalachian businesswoman Heather Hill. In a closed-door session, the Ohio GOP Central Committee voted 60-3 to back Ramaswamy after first deciding by a 51-13 margin to endorse in the race. advertisementThe endorsement gives Ramaswamy key institutional advantages, including access to party fundraising channels, staff support, and discounted political mail rates under state law.
The endorsement comes amid growing friction within the party. Ohio Governor Mike DeWine, who is term-limited and widely believed to favor Lt. Gov. Jim Tressel as a more moderate successor, opposed the early endorsement, calling the long lead-up to the 2026 primary "a lifetime in politics." DeWine and his allies had lobbied behind the scenes to delay the endorsement vote, signaling his discomfort with Ramaswamy's Trump-aligned, populist candidacy.Tressel, the former Ohio State football coach appointed as lieutenant governor earlier this year, added intrigue to the race just hours before the vote by saying he is "seriously considering" a run, his strongest indication yet of potential candidacy. However, no one spoke on his behalf during Friday's meeting, and he was absent from the vote.advertisementRamaswamy, a Cincinnati native and former co-chair of Trump's Department of Government Efficiency initiative, launched his campaign earlier this year and has since toured the state aggressively. Trump endorsed him on day one, calling him "Young, Strong, and Smart!" His campaign mirrors the recent trajectories of JD Vance and Bernie Moreno—political newcomers who won Senate seats in Ohio with Trump's backing.The Ohio GOP's decision to conduct the debate and vote in private, a break from previous open proceedings, drew criticism. But party chairman Alex Triantifilou defended the move, saying, 'This is a party decision. The public can make their judgment at the ballot box.'Following the vote, Ramaswamy framed the endorsement as a call for unity. 'There was a lot of wisdom in that room,' he told reporters. 'This shows the Republican Party is ready to move forward together.'Still, the endorsement poses new challenges for Yost and may complicate Tressel's potential entry into the race. It also signals a broader shift within the Ohio GOP as the Trump wing continues to eclipse the influence of more traditional party figures like DeWine.Meanwhile, on the Democratic side, former state health director Dr. Amy Acton remains the only announced candidate in the 2026 gubernatorial race. The deadline to file is February 4, 2026.advertisement(With input from the Associated Press)
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Mint
32 minutes ago
- Mint
Trump to Restore Names Honoring Confederates at Army Bases
President Donald Trump said he would restore the names of military bases renamed by his predecessor Joe Biden, undoing an effort to make the armed forces more inclusive and halt the commemoration of former Confederate officers. 'We are also going to be restoring the names to Fort Pickett, Fort Hood, Fort Gordon, Fort Rucker, Fort Polk, Fort A.P. Hill and Fort Robert E. Lee,' Trump said Tuesday during a visit to Fort Bragg in North Carolina to celebrate the 250th birthday of the US Army. 'We won a lot of battles out of those forts. It's no time to change. And I'm superstitious, you know? I like to keep it going, right,' he added. Fort Bragg is also a military facility that has been renamed under Trump. The base was previously named to honor a Confederate general, Braxton Bragg, but its name was changed to Fort Liberty under former President Biden's administration, part of a broader effort to stop honoring individuals who took up arms against the US government during the Civil War. That effort to rename military bases came after a national reckoning on race spurred by the killing of George Floyd, a Black man in Minneapolis at the hands of police. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth renamed the installation Fort Bragg in February, but in honor of a different Bragg, this time commemorating Roland L. Bragg, a World War II veteran who was awarded the Silver Star and Purple Heart for bravery during the Battle of the Bulge. The fort had become a flashpoint for Trump and his supporters, who have been scrapping diversity, equity and inclusion practices within the federal government, and offers an example of how the new administration is moving to put its stamp on the armed forces and turn to the military to demonstrate his presidential powers and promote his agenda. Trump devoted a sizable portion of his remarks to criticizing his predecessor and offering justification for his decision to deploy US troops to Los Angeles in response to protests over his deportation policies, mobilizing 700 Marines and augmenting National Guard personnel already on the ground despite the objections of state and local leaders. 'What you're witnessing in California is a full blown assault on peace, on public order and a national sovereignty carried out by rioters bearing foreign flags with the aim of continuing a foreign invasion of our country. We're not going to let that happen,' Trump said. US law generally bars the use of the active-duty US military — the Army, Navy, Air Force and Marines — from carrying out domestic law enforcement. The state of California is suing the administration, saying that Trump's deployment of the National Guard was unlawful. Earlier: US Deploys Marines to LA as Trump Standoff With Newsom Escalates Trump in his first term also sought to lean on the military as a show of force but was blocked by members of his Cabinet. This time, the president has stocked his team with loyalists less resistant to those efforts. Trump's visit to Fort Bragg is part of a week of festivities aimed at celebrating the Army, culminating in a large-scale military parade on Saturday in Washington, DC, that also coincides with his own 79th birthday. Saturday's military parade in Washington will be the showcase for the celebrations over the Army's birthday. The parade is expected to involve thousands of soldiers as well as 150 military vehicles and 50 aircraft, and the US Army estimates the festivities will cost between $25 million and $40 million. Trump on Monday defended the plans and the costs, claiming he and other donors would be personally covering many of the expenses and hailing it as an opportunity to 'celebrate our military.' The president told reporters at the White House there would be 'tanks all over the place' and that 'thousands and thousands of soldiers going to bravely march down the streets.' This article was generated from an automated news agency feed without modifications to text.
The Hindu
40 minutes ago
- The Hindu
Highlighting 11 years of Modi govt., BJP attacks TMC govt.
Union Ministers and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leaders Bhupendra Yadav and Sukanta Majumdar on Wednesday shared highlights from the 11 years of the Narendra Modi-led Central government and accused West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee of depriving the State of the Centre's development initiatives and schemes. During an event of the BJP in Kolkata, Mr. Yadav, the Union Minister of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, said that Ms. Banerjee's rule will be remembered for 'heinous crimes against women, teachers losing their jobs in a scam, communal violence in Murshidabad, and massive brain drain from the State due to Trinamool-aligned mafia, strange land policies, and an anti-business attitude'. 'Prime Minister Modi has governed the country with consistency and continuity, and brought transparency to its public initiatives,' Mr. Yadav said. He claimed that while the Central government has not shirked its responsibility in aiding development in the State, the West Bengal government has 'stopped' the Centre's initiatives from being fully implemented in the State. Mr. Majumdar claimed that the State's government has based its actions on 'corruption, appeasement politics, communal disharmony' and alleged that industry would have flourished in West Bengal if the Trinamool government operated with transparency and welcomed the Centre's development initiatives. The legislators also expressed confidence in the BJP forming the government in West Bengal following the Assembly elections in 2026 and said it will 'restore the State's legacy and glory'.
New Indian Express
41 minutes ago
- New Indian Express
Trump-Musk farce: Egos can chip away at American enterprise
Behind the bravado lies real power. Musk's companies, including SpaceX, Tesla, and Starlink, have benefited enormously from government contracts—SpaceX alone has received over $20 billion since 2008. A fuming Trump threatened to terminate these deals to save 'billions.' Musk impulsively countered, saying he would decommission the Dragon spacecraft that transports astronauts and supplies to the International Space Station. Though he quickly backtracked, the message was clear: he is willing to use public services as leverage in a personal feud. This is where the drama turns truly dangerous. That a single billionaire can disrupt America's space programme or potentially affect national defence operations reveals just how fragile this public-private dependency has become. What once were collective public endeavours—space travel, defence, innovation—are now at the mercy of erratic personalities. The US has no near-term replacement for SpaceX's Falcon 9 or Dragon capsules, and Musk knows it more than anyone else. The political stakes are no smaller. Musk has donated nearly $300 million to Republicans in the past year, money the party will sorely miss if he withdraws or, worse, turns it against them. Trump's inner circle remains tied to regulatory agencies investigating Musk's companies, from Tesla's driverless taxis to labour practices. With both men capable of inflicting institutional damage, their unravelling alliance is already spilling beyond rhetoric. This isn't just an elite squabble. It's a warning. When two men with oversized egos and overlapping empires fall out, it's the public that pays the price. The Trump-Musk drama may play out on social media, but its consequences are real and dangerously far-reaching.
