Trump-backed Vivek Ramaswamy wins Ohio Republican Party’s endorsement in 2026 governor’s race

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — Trump-backed biotech billionaire Vivek Ramaswamy won the Ohio Republican Party’s gubernatorial endorsement 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 Trump’s son, Donald Trump Jr., who urged members of the State Central Committee to back him.

“I understand that early endorsements aren’t the norm, but these are not ordinary times,” the younger Trump wrote. “We have a country to save, and we don’t have any time or money to waste.”

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 committee that the GOP’s motto headed into 2026 is, “Unite, unite, unite!”

The party’s governing board held 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. Term-limited Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine, who formally heads the state party, had himself warned that the near-year until next year’s primary is “a lifetime” in politics.

Others making a bid for governor

Friday’s march toward the early endorsement came even as DeWine’s lieutenant governor, Jim Tressel, broke his silence late Thursday to say he is also considering a bid for governor. Tressel is a championship-winning former Ohio State Buckeyes head football coach who could play well among a sports fan base known as Buckeye Nation and the university’s 600,000 living alumni. The filing deadline for the race is Feb. 4, 2026.

More immediately, the endorsement was a blow to Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost, 68, the fourth-term state officeholder who is Ramaswamy’s best known primary rival.

In a statement, Yost’s campaign manager, Emily Hottinger, congratulated Ramaswamy.

“The Attorney General is going to take a few days to consult with key supporters about the path forward,” she said, “but the people of Ohio deserve a choice, not a premature coronation of an untested candidate.”

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.

Ramaswamy’s candidacy

Ramaswamy, 39, 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.

He said Friday that the state party endorsement puts his campaign in “an incredibly strong” position headed into 2026, when he said he will work to appeal to not just Republicans but all voters.

“The way we’re running this campaign is really not about left versus right,” he told reporters after the vote. “It is about up versus down. And we in Ohio choose up.” He said the next “policy-rich” phase of the campaign will feature his proposed solutions to the state’s lagging population growth, a looming energy shortage and deficiencies in educational achievement.

A native of Cincinnati, Ramaswamy had shown interest in the U.S. Senate seat vacated by Vice President JD Vance before, but DeWine chose then-Lt. Gov. Jon Husted as Vance’s successor. In a separate vote Friday, the Central Committee joined Trump in endorsing Husted in his 2026 bid to retain his seat for the remainder of Vance’s unexpired term.

With decades in Ohio politics, Husted had been considered the front-runner for governor when he suddenly accepted the Senate appointment. Removing him from the gubernatorial race opened a pathway for Ramaswamy in state politics that could deter him from challenging Vance — a fellow Cincinnatian whom he has known since Yale Law School — for the presidency in 2028.

Where the other contenders stand

Rather than attend the party meeting, Yost had joined DeWine in attending 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 Central Committee members 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,” Yost 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.”

Ohio’s other three statewide officeholders attended the meeting, with both Secretary of State Frank LaRose and Treasurer Robert Sprague urging the committee to endorse Ramaswamy. Auditor Keith Faber didn’t mention the gubernatorial contender, instead warning against a ban on police immunity that is working its way to the statewide ballot.

In an interview, another gubernatorial candidate, Appalachian entrepreneur Heather Hill, called the endorsement decision unfair. She said the party should have remained neutral — as it often has in the past — and allowed the candidates to battle it out in the primary.