On Friday, the Ohio Republican Party voted overwhelmingly to endorse Vivek Ramaswamy for governor—a year out from the primary.
The first step was a vote to endorse a candidate in the primary. The deadline to file for the 2026 May primary is not until February of 2026, yet all but 13 Republicans voted to proceed with an endorsement. Once that was decided, a vote was held on which candidate to endorse. Ramaswamy won overwhelmingly by a vote of 60-3.
Ohio Republican Party Chairman Alex Triantafilou announced the endorsement, saying, “Let it be heard here that we support President Donald Trump, and we support Vivek Ramaswamy for governor.”
Ramaswamy celebrated the move, saying there was “unprecedented unity” within the state GOP.
He posted on X, “Grateful to receive the endorsement of the Ohio Republican Party by a historic 60-3 margin. We’re laser focused on growing our Republican voter base & delivering a decisive victory in ‘26.”
There are two other Republican candidates in the race to replace term-limited Gov. Mike DeWine: Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost and Morgan County resident Heather Hill. The endorsement effectively put the nails in the coffins of those two, especially coming on the heels of Ramaswamy’s endorsements by Trump and scores of state GOP leaders, none of whom want to get on the wrong side of the president.
Yost, who has been an excellent attorney general and would make an excellent governor, said he is consulting with his advisors and supporters, ostensibly about whether to continue in the race.
“The Attorney General is going to take a few days to consult with key supporters about the path forward — but the people of Ohio deserve a choice, not a premature coronation of an untested candidate,” Emily Hottinger, his campaign manager, said in a statement.
Triantafilou responded to criticism that the vote was held behind closed doors in executive session by explaining, “We think that public debate would help the Democrats, and we’re here to elect Republicans.”
Donald Trump Jr. had urged the ORP to endorse Ramaswamy. He wrote in a lengthy X post, “I understand that early endorsements aren’t the norm, but these are not ordinary times. We have a country to save, and we don’t have any time or money to waste. 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.”
The early endorsement likely also takes former Ohio State coach and current Ohio Lieutenant Gov. Jim Tressel, who had been floating a gubernatorial bid, out of the running as well.
For the record, I’m no fan of coronations. Look where that got Joe Biden. And Kamala Harris. While primaries can be bruising, the process of debates and competitive elections has a way of toughening up candidates and preparing them for the even more bruising general elections.
The ORP has a bad habit of putting its thumb on the scale for its favored candidates. They used their power to essentially shut down conservative candidates during the Tea Party movement by endorsing establishment hacks and throwing money at their campaigns. I didn’t like it then, and I don’t like it now. Ramaswamy will now have access to ORP resources like a statewide candidate’s fund that the party manages, the party’s voter database, campaign services, field staff support, and other benefits, which is great for him, but will essentially quash the other campaigns.
Moreover, as much as I like Ramaswamy, I’m worried about how he’ll do against Amy Acton, the only declared Democrat candidate on the ballot. She was DeWine’s director of public health, who helped enforce the governor’s draconian COVID-19 lockdown policies. She and DeWine had a daily TV variety show update where they tried to shame people into wearing masks and taking the vaccine and tried to justify the lockdowns. That’s her Achilles heel.
Unfortunately, Ramaswamy may not be in the best position to counter Acton. In fact, he served with Acton on DeWine’s COVID task force, along with then-Lt. Gov. Jon Husted (DeWine’s henchman, who also managed to garner an ORP endorsement last week for his Senate re-election bid for some reason). Ramaswamy advocated for universal antibody testing as a ticket to return to normal life, something Yost has been hammering him on.
Yost, a solid conservative and excellent campaigner—who spent the pandemic suing the Biden administration over its COVID-19 mandates—deserves a chance to make his case to Ohio voters. And Ohio voters deserve a choice. Unfortunately, it doesn’t look like that’s going to happen. But at least there’s the perception of unity.
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