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India Today
09-05-2025
- Automotive
- India Today
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 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 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 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 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 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, input from the Associated Press)
Associated Press
09-05-2025
- Business
- Associated Press
Trump-endorsed Vivek Ramaswamy wins Ohio Republican Party's endorsement in 2026 governor's race
COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — Trump-endorsed biotech billionaire Vivek Ramaswamy won the Ohio Republican Party's gubernatorial endorsement on Friday, overcoming more experienced and potentially more popular rivals to land coveted institutional and monetary support nearly a year before the 2026 primary. Ramaswamy, 39, former co-chair of President Donald Trump's Department of Government Efficiency initiative, benefited from Trump's backing and from an 11th-hour post on X by Donald Trump Jr., who urged members of the 66-member State Central Committee to back him. The party's governing board took the unusual step of holding both the debate and vote for Ramaswamy behind closed doors, as objections swirled from some corners of the party that taking sides in the race was unfair, premature or both. Lara Trump, former co-chair of the Republican National Committee and daughter-in-law to the president, opened Friday's meeting by phone. She stopped short of calling for a Ramaswamy endorsement, but reminded the 66-member committee that the GOP's motto headed into 2026 is, 'Unite, unite, unite!' Friday's march toward the early endorsement came even as Lt. Gov. Jim Tressel broke his silence late Thursday to say that he is also considering a bid for governor. Tressel is a championship-winning former Ohio State Buckeyes head football coach who could present a challenge for Ramaswamy. The filing deadline for the race is Feb. 4, 2026. More immediately, the endorsement was a blow to the two declared gubernatorial candidates — Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost, a fourth-term state officeholder, and Appalachian entrepreneur Heather Hill. Dr. Amy Acton, the former state health director who helped lead Ohio through the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, is the only announced Democrat in the race. Ahead of Friday's vote, Republican Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine called the near-year until the 2026 primary 'a lifetime' in politics. He is prohibited from running again due to term limits and is believed to have picked Tressel for his potential as a moderate Republican successor. Ramaswamy, an unsuccessful 2024 presidential candidate, staged a spirited campaign launch in February and Trump endorsed Ramaswamy the same day as 'Young, Strong, and Smart!' He has been barnstorming the state ever since. A native of Cincinnati, Ramaswamy had also shown interest in the U.S. Senate seat vacated by Vice President JD Vance before, but DeWine chose Lt. Gov. Jon Husted as Vance's successor. In a separate vote Friday, the central committee also endorsed Husted as he seeks to retain the seat next year for the remainder of Vance's unexpired term. Rather than attend the party meeting, Yost had chosen to attend the funeral of a retired Hamilton County sheriff's deputy struck and killed last week by the father of a teen who had been fatally shot by police a day earlier. He said in a letter to the Central Committee obtained by The Associated Press that it was a difficult decision. 'My favorite part of a trial was always the closing argument — the distillation of all the evidence, its meaning, and the application of reason and law,' he wrote. 'I relish the battle. But I believe this is the right thing to do (regardless of whether it is politically wise) and have so chosen my course.' Ramaswamy is trying to follow the paths of Vance and Ohio Sen. Bernie Moreno — two newcomers to Ohio politics who won Senate seats with the help of Trump's endorsement. Yost, a fourth-term state officeholder who launched his gubernatorial campaign in January, is testing that model. Traditionally, Ohio voters have tended to support candidates with government experience for state-level offices, while favoring business backgrounds in their presidential and Senate picks.
