COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) 鈥� Vivek Ramaswamy, the Cincinnati-born biotech entrepreneur who on President Donald Trump's first day, for Ohio governor Monday with promises to institute work requirements for Medicaid and merit pay for all public school teachers and administrators.
Ramaswamy, 39, kicked off his campaign in Cincinnati, joining the 2026 Republican primary just a month after presumed front-runner 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. The president posted his endorsement of Ramaswamy Monday night on social media.
鈥淚 spent most of last year working tirelessly to help send Donald Trump back to the White House because it was a fork in the road,鈥� Ramaswamy said to loud cheers from the crowd. 鈥淚t was a fork in the road for the future of the country.鈥�
On his Truth Social site, Trump lauded Ramaswamy as 鈥渟omething SPECIAL.鈥�
鈥淗e鈥檚 Young, Strong, and Smart!鈥� Trump wrote. 鈥淰ivek is also a very good person, who truly loves our Country. He will be a GREAT Governor of Ohio, will never let you down, and has my COMPLETE AND TOTAL ENDORSEMENT!鈥�
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 told the crowd at his campaign launch that he would 鈥渆nd the war on work鈥� by reattaching and welfare.
He vowed to eliminate income and property taxes, and he promised Ohio would be the first state in the nation to implement merit-based pay for every teacher, principal, superintendent and administrator.
He spoke of Ohio's more prosperous days, when he said the state was home to the glass, rubber and steel capitals of the world. This could be the case again, he said, though in other industries like semiconductor production, nuclear energy, biotechnology and bitcoin.
鈥淚 believe deep in my bones that Ohio can lead the way again," he said. 鈥淚f Silicon Valley was at the leading edge of the American economy for the last 10 years, it will be the Ohio River Valley for the next 10 years.鈥�
Yost issued a statement welcoming Ramaswamy to the race 鈥渇or however long he sticks around.鈥�
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.
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Associated Press writer Audrey McAvoy in Honolulu contributed to this report.
Julie Carr Smyth, The Associated Press
