COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) 鈥� The sun hadn't set on Republican Vivek Ramaswamy's in Ohio earlier this week before President Donald Trump posted his endorsement of the Cincinnati-born biotech entrepreneur and .
Trump lauded the multimillionaire on his Truth Social site as 鈥渟omething SPECIAL,鈥� calling him "Young, Strong, and Smart!鈥�
鈥淰ivek is also a very good person, who truly loves our Country," the president wrote. "He will be a GREAT Governor of Ohio, will never let you down, and has my COMPLETE AND TOTAL ENDORSEMENT!鈥�
The timing of Trump's announcement intrigued Ohio political observers, who have watched over the past several years as his decisions to weigh in on key statewide races have gone from days before the election, to months, to now more than a year.
Robert Clegg, a long-time Republican campaign adviser in the state, said it may be meant as a message for Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost, , or perhaps even for , a popular former Ohio State Buckeyes football coach whose future political plans are unclear.
鈥淭his is awfully early in the game, and I expected an endorsement maybe later this year 鈥� as in, like the fall, or even wait until January,鈥� Clegg said. 鈥淚 wonder if the president doesn't want to have a knock-down, drag-out primary here in Ohio.鈥�
Trump tantalized Republican candidates in Ohio鈥檚 until just 19 days before the election, when he and pushed him over the finish line to secure the GOP nomination. Vance went on to win the general election that fall.
A year later, Trump of Republican Bernie Moreno for Senate three months before the primary. Moreno went on to win both the primary and the general election.
This time around, Trump didn't wait.
His backing is expected to help Ramaswamy鈥檚 early campaign efforts as he works against in statewide office in a state that鈥檚 resoundingly voted for Trump three times. In the run-up to the announcement, Ramaswamy, who in 2024, had also lined up key political advisers who had helped Vance with his 2022 Senate bid, as well as the endorsements of two sitting statewide officials and well-known conservatives nationally, including Utah Sen. Mike Lee.
Still, the success rate of Trump鈥檚 endorsement in governor鈥檚 races has been mixed. In 2018, his backing helped Texas鈥� Greg Abbott to victory, for example, but not Wisconsin鈥檚 Scott Walker. In 2022, Trump鈥檚 endorsement helped Sarah Huckabee Sanders win the Arkansas governorship, but it didn鈥檛 help Kari Lake win Arizona鈥檚.
Tom Zawistowski, a leader of Ohio's tea party movement, said he believes Trump's anticipated backing of Ramaswamy prompted then-Ohio Lt. Gov. Jon Husted, long viewed as the front-runner to be the state's next governor, to to Vance's former Senate seat.
鈥淭he fact is Jon Husted could not defend against a Trump endorsement and a very highly financed opponent in Vivek,鈥� he said. 鈥淪o this is what's happening 鈥� and then, shazam, here comes Jim Tressel. Only in Ohio politics.鈥�
Zawistowski theorized that Republican Gov. Mike DeWine selected Tressel as Husted's replacement so he'll be in the wings to run as an establishment Republican should Yost's campaign fail to take hold by summer.
Yost, who is term-limited, came out of the gate painting Ramaswamy as unreliable.
鈥淚 welcome Mr. Ramaswamy to the race for however long he sticks around," Yost said in a statement. "We鈥檒l see if he actually stays in 鈥� Mr. Ramaswamy quit on President Trump and DOGE on Day 1, he quit on Ohio and moved his company to Texas, and he quit his presidential campaign after a devastating fourth-place finish in Iowa.鈥�
Buckeye Freedom Fund, a super PAC supporting Yost, also has already sent out attack mailings against Ramaswamy, accusing him of standing with Trump's predecessor, President Joe Biden, a Democrat, 鈥渋n allowing transgender individuals to serve in the military.鈥� A spokesperson for Ramaswamy's campaign said when one campaign has the endorsements of Trump, Elon Musk and many other conservative leaders, 鈥渓esser campaigns have no choice except to twist words.鈥�
Zawistowski called Tressel, who has worked both as a college football coach and a university president, an 鈥渋nstitutionalist鈥� and said it's likely he could raise large amounts of money from Ohio State alumni and football fans, a massive nationwide community known collectively as Buckeye Nation.
He said the state's MAGA base is thrilled with Trump, Musk and DOGE so far, but he could see opponents of the effort trying to drive both moderate Republicans and Democrats to vote for Tressel in next year's GOP primary, rather than in her party's primary.
Trying to avert such a scenario, he said, could explain why Trump jumped into the fray so quickly on Ramaswamy's behalf.
Julie Carr Smyth, The Associated Press
