Latest news with #OhioGovernor
Washington Post
a day ago
- Politics
- Washington Post
Ohio graduate student says he'll make another bid for governor in 2026
COLUMBUS, Ohio — An Ohio State University master's student said Wednesday that he's making an independent bid for governor in 2026 . This marks Timothy Grady's second go at the office. The 28-year-old who says he advocates 'new economic thinking' and systemic political change ran what he describes as a 'largely satirical' write-in campaign in 2022. He earned the endorsement of performance artist and activist Vermin Supreme and finishing fourth of six candidates with 574 votes.
The Independent
28-05-2025
- Business
- The Independent
Legendary Ohio State coach Jim Tressel considering run for governor to take on Ramaswamy and the Trump machine
Biotech entrepreneur and former presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy looks set to romp home with the Republican nomination to be the next governor of Ohio, a year out from the party's primary. He has the backing of President Donald Trump, earned the formal support of the state party, and is leading in early polling. Can anyone derail the Ramaswamy train, capture the president's attention, and snatch the nomination? Possibly. Current term-limited Governor Mike DeWine, Politico reports, is not keen on Ramaswamy taking over from him, nor on his old Democratic rival, Sherrod Brown, winning if he were to run. The governor appears to have a plan to advance his preferred candidate, Lieutenant Governor Jim Tressel. Appointed to the role in February 2025 after former Lt. Gov. John Husted took over JD Vance 's Senate seat when he became vice president, Tressel potentially has something of an advantage in a statewide race. He is the former Ohio State football coach who guided the Buckeyes to seven Big Ten championships and the 2002 National Championship. Prior to that, he also led Youngstown State University to the playoffs 10 times and won four national championships. Most recently, he returned to YSU from Ohio State as university president from 2014 to 2023. Tressel is an Ohio hero. Speaking to Politico, DeWine acknowledged the 'conventional wisdom' regarding Ramaswamy's current advantage and the state of the race almost a year out from the primary, but believes his lieutenant is unique. 'He told me he thinks he's been to every high school in the state,' the governor said of the former coach. 'He is Ohio; he really understands the diversity of this state.' DeWine added: 'Once you get beyond the introductions, then he's got to obviously sell. I think he will.' Tressel has neither confirmed nor ruled out his potential candidacy. If he does jump into the race, he will have a hill to climb against the Trump machine that took Vance to within a heartbeat of the presidency and that has already aligned behind Ramaswamy. Can a storied history as a state football hero compete with the Trump machine? Or could it even turn the president's head? Trump has given dual endorsements before, though Ramaswamy's polling numbers would indicate that this may be unlikely in this case, given that he had 64 percent support from prospective GOP primary voters in April, compared to Tressel's 14 percent. Nevertheless, Tressel is testing the waters, making appearances at county Republican events, some now renamed as Lincoln-Reagan-Trump dinners, underlining the changing nature of the party in the state and nationwide. While he is attracting uniform respect from attendees, Politico notes that most feel the primary is already decided, with one strategist telling the outlet that 'it would take Vivek making some cataclysmic mistakes now' to alter that perception. Recalling Ramaswamy's boisterous debate performances in the Republican presidential primaries leading up to the 2024 election, that's not out of the question. As for when Tressel has to decide, he told Politico that he didn't know the timing for signing up to run for office: 'I don't even know what you have to do to sign up to run for something.' Prompted that his chief backer, Governor DeWine, would have a good idea, he added: 'Well, and that's why if I thought there was a timing problem right now I would hear about it from him.'
Washington Post
16-05-2025
- Politics
- Washington Post
Ohio's Republican attorney general suspends his campaign for governor after Trump backed a rival
COLUMBUS, Ohio — Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost suspended his campaign for governor on Friday, just a week after he lost the state Republican Party's endorsement to Trump-backed biotech billionaire Vivek Ramaswamy . In an email to supporters, Yost pledged to continue to fight for the state as attorney general until the end of his term in January 2027.
Yahoo
13-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Why the Ohio GOP's Ramaswamy endorsement carries weight
Vivek Ramaswamy. (Photo by Morgan Trau, WEWS.) After gaining the Ohio Republican Party's endorsement for governor, entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy has an additional leg up on any primary competitors — getting access to key resources and support. It's a year until Republican voters need to choose a nominee for Ohio governor, and the GOP voted Friday to endorse Ramaswamy. 'We want to use that to not just unite the Republicans of Ohio, but to unite the Ohioans across the state,' Ramaswamy told reporters after getting the vote. With the endorsement comes all the perks along with it. 'There are a couple of logistical elements that relate to the state party that allow us to work together with a one team mentality,' he continued. Republican strategist Terry Casey explained this sets him up for success versus any other GOP candidate. Ramaswamy will get more resources, like money, mailers, mail indicia and voter lists, from the party. Plus, he will be listed as the candidate to support on the sample ballot. 'The less time and money you waste on a divisive primary, the more you focus on the general election, the better off you are,' Casey said. The entrepreneur announced his bid for Ohio governor back in February. Soon after, he also received the coveted endorsement from President Donald Trump. Ramaswamy beat out Attorney General Dave Yost, whose team told us he is taking a few days to figure out his next plans. 'Part of [the endorsement] is narrowing the field and less wasting of money,' the strategist said. 'So, that's another nice way of saying, 'narrow the field up.'' Since the primary is so far away, Casey doesn't rule out another candidate jumping in. Some strategists have been pushing Lt. Gov. and former OSU football coach Jim Tressel to run, but he hasn't officially announced. He is considering a run, according to a statement sent to News 5 last week. 'Clearly Jim Tressel has some name ID,' Casey said. 'In theory, anybody has a chance. But the biggest question is, 'What's his message? Is he just going to be a continuation of Mike DeWine? What does he want to do new and different?'' State Auditor Keith Faber said the party could have waited. In the 2022 gubernatorial election, the party didn't endorse incumbent Gov. Mike DeWine until three months before the primary. 'I just didn't think it was time for me to jump in and endorse personally at this point,' Faber said. But Senate President Rob McColley, R-Napoleon, who is also being floated as Ramaswamy's lieutenant governor, said he doesn't think anyone new entering the race will change the party's support. 'Lt. Gov. Tressel is doing an excellent job as lieutenant governor — let me start by saying that,' he said. 'But when you look at the polling that's come out, he's been included in some of the polling, and I think what you're seeing, though, is a uniting force right now behind Vivek Ramaswamy.' During the gaggle, Ramaswamy didn't answer a reporter's question about Tressel possibly joining the race. Still, there's a long way until next May. Follow WEWS statehouse reporter Morgan Trau on Twitter and Facebook. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX
Yahoo
09-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Ohio Lt. Gov. Jim Tressel confirms he's considering a run for governor
CLEVELAND — Ohio Lt. Gov. Jim Tressel, a Republican and a former Ohio State football coach, confirmed Thursday that he is considering a run for governor in 2026. Tressel, who previously said he was not thinking about a bid but stopped short of ruling one out, indicated in a statement first shared with NBC News that his thinking has changed. 'What has been a surprise, and it has been humbling, is how many people are encouraging me to run for Governor,' Tressel said in the statement, after emphasizing how much he was enjoying his current job. 'I have not decided yet, but when I became Lieutenant Governor in February, Ellen told me that it seemed like God had more work for me to do, and she was right,' Tressel added, referring to his wife. 'While I have not ruled out a run for Governor — and there will be a time in the future for those conversations — for now, I will remain focused on helping Ohioans get off the sidelines and into our workforce so they can reach their full potential.'Tressel's statement came ahead of a meeting Friday at which the Ohio Republican Party's state central committee will consider issuing an early endorsement for the May 2026 primary. Allies of Vivek Ramaswamy, a biotech entrepreneur whose candidacy for governor is backed by President Donald Trump and Vice President JD Vance, are pushing hard to win the endorsement over state Attorney General Dave Yost. But term-limited Gov. Mike DeWine has been calling committee members urging them to hold off, citing the possibility that other candidates could jump in the race, NBC News reported this week. DeWine's effort has been viewed by many party insiders as a move to keep the state party from committing advertising and organizational resources to Ramaswamy before Tressel makes a decision. The governor picked Tressel to be his deputy less than three months ago, immediately triggering speculation that he was grooming him for even higher office. 'I think he would like to forestall an endorsement taking place, because I think he would like to see if he can convince Jim Tressel to run for governor,' one Republican leader in the state said of DeWine this week. DeWine chose Tressel in February after he appointed his previous lieutenant governor, Jon Husted, to fill the Senate vacancy Vance left when he became vice president. In a statement Tuesday, DeWine stressed that it is too soon to take sides in the race to succeed him. 'As far as who I endorse in the Republican primary for Governor, it is much too early, as we do not even know who all will be in the race,' he said. 'We are now 364 days away from the primary and 293 days away from the filing deadline. In politics, this is a lifetime!' Tressel, 72, won multiple national championships as a college football coach, first guiding the lower-division Youngstown State Penguins to four titles in the 1990s before jumping to the Big Ten and winning the 2002 national championship with the Ohio State Buckeyes in his second year as head coach there. He resigned from Ohio State in 2011 with the football program mired in controversy and an NCAA investigation involving players selling memorabilia to a tattoo parlor. Public and internal polling has shown Ramaswamy, 39, with a sizable lead over both Yost and Tressel. An outside group supportive of Ramaswamy has already spent millions to amplify Trump's endorsement in TV ads. And Vance has directed some of his top political advisers to help steer Ramaswamy's campaign. Donald Trump Jr. urged state central committee members Wednesday to ratify his father's choice, while conceding that 'early endorsements aren't the norm.' 'We have a country to save, and we don't have any time or money to waste,' Trump Jr. wrote in a post on X. 'President Trump endorsed Vivek, in one of his very first 2026 endorsements, for a reason: We need Vivek in Ohio, and Ohio needs Vivek as its Governor.' On the Democratic side, Dr. Amy Acton, who was DeWine's health director in the early days of the Covid pandemic, has launched a campaign for governor. Former Sen. Sherrod Brown, who lost his Senate seat last year, and former Rep. Tim Ryan, who lost to Vance in the 2022 Senate race, are among the other Democrats considering running. Democrats have not won the governorship in Ohio since 2006, and the state has leaned even further to the right in recent cycles, with Trump winning by comfortable margins in all three of his presidential campaigns. This article was originally published on
