COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) 鈥� Vivek Ramaswamy, the Cincinnati-born biotech entrepreneur who on President Donald Trump's first day, was for Ohio governor Monday.
Ramaswamy, 39, is set to kick off his campaign in Cincinnati, joining the 2026 Republican primary just a month after presumed frontrunner and then-Lt. Gov. Jon Husted to take a U.S. Senate appointment.
Ramaswamy sought before dropping out to back Trump, who later tapped him to co-chair the efficiency initiative with billionaire Elon Musk. A near-billionaire himself, Ramaswamy has promoted his ties to Trump as he lines up and donors in the governor's race, but the president has made no formal endorsement yet.
Ramaswamy joins a competitive GOP primary field to succeed Republican Gov. Mike DeWine, 78, a veteran center-right politician who is term-limited.
Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost for the seat in January and Heather Hill, a Black entrepreneur from Appalachia, also is running. Dr. Amy Acton, the former state health director who helped lead Ohio through the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, is .
They will compete in a former bellwether state that has tacked reliably red in recent years, having voted for Trump three times by more than 8 percentage points. Republicans also hold every statewide executive office, a majority on the Ohio Supreme Court and supermajorities in both legislative chambers.
Ramaswamy, who is Hindu, outlined the 10 core beliefs featured in his presidential campaign 鈥� led by 鈥淕od is real鈥� followed by 鈥渢here are two genders鈥� 鈥� in the 2024 book, 鈥淭ruths: The Future of America First.鈥� He first rose to political prominence with his 2021 book, 鈥淲oke Inc: Inside Corporate America鈥檚 Social Justice Scam,鈥� a scorching critique of corporations that he said as a smokescreen for self-interested policies.
He seeks to buck the traditional route to Ohio's governorship, which runs through extensive government service often stretching decades, and instead mount a Trump-style ascent into the job directly from the business world.
The formula has worked for Vice President JD Vance and U.S. Sen. Bernie Moreno, two political newcomers who won Senate seats with the help of Trump鈥檚 endorsement in 2022 and 2024, respectively. But Ramaswamy will test it in a state government-level race for the first time in recent memory.
DeWine passed Ramaswamy over to the Senate seat , citing Husted鈥檚 decades of elective experience. The gubernatorial bid by Husted, a former Ohio House speaker and secretary of state, had locked down many key endorsements and wealthy donors, who are now largely free agents.
Yost joined the race as rumors circulated that . Since then, however, and have endorsed Ramaswamy.
Julie Carr Smyth, The Associated Press
