(Ken Silva, Headline USA) Vivek Ramaswamy, the disgraced former co-chair of the Department of Government Efficiency, is planning to run for governor of Ohio
Ramaswamy, a 39-year-old Hindu, 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 left the running to take a U.S. Senate appointment.
Big announcement tomorrow, starting in the heart of America: Butler County. pic.twitter.com/BpmyRyBt33
— Vivek Ramaswamy (@VivekGRamaswamy) February 24, 2025
Ramaswamy sought the GOP nomination for president in 2024 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 key endorsements 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 announced a bid 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 running as a Democrat.
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 has fallen out of favor with the MAGA movement due to his vocal support of Elon Musk’s calls to import hundreds of thousands of foreign tech workers and engineers.
Ramaswamy criticized American culture over Christmas, saying U.S. workers are lazy compared to their foreign counterparts.
Ramaswamy, a former hedge fund manager and pharmaceutical executive, then listed what he perceives to be problems with American culture, from watching television instead of studying math, to being overly interested in sports.
He then called for a cultural shift, saying that it can be our “Sputnik moment”—when Russia shocked the U.S. by becoming the first country to successfully launch a satellite into space.
Ramaswamy’s message wasn’t received very well among right-wingers, and he’s been frequently on the butt end of anti-immigration jokes on Twitter/X ever since.
THE SPELLING BEE! VIVEK NO, THE KIDS HAVE TO STUDY FOR THEIR PRESCHOOL SPELLING BEE! VIVEK!!! pic.twitter.com/tlGpXlFx3N
— JD (@FishkinSykes) February 17, 2025
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Ken Silva is the editor of Headline USA. Follow him at x.com/jd_cashless.
