May 9—The Ohio Republican Party voted to officially endorse Vivek Ramaswamy in the 2026 gubernatorial race Friday, picking the Trump ally over the state’s sitting Attorney General Dave Yost — and preempting others who might enter the race, such as Lt. Gov. Jim Tressel.
The endorsement confirms Ramaswamy, a 39-year-old entrepreneur and southwest Ohio native who surged to the national stage in a 2020 presidential run, as a clear front-runner in the 2026 Republican primary to succeed term-limited Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine.
It’s an earlier-than-usual endorsement from the party, coming nine months before the state’s Feb. 4, 2026 filing deadline for the May 5, 2026 primary.
The party also endorsed U.S. Sen. Jon Husted, who will have to run in 2026, potentially fending off Republican challengers, to defend the Senate seat he was nominated to earlier this year.
“We are proud to endorse Senator Jon Husted and Vivek Ramaswamy because they have proven that they will fight tirelessly for the people of Ohio,” said Ohio GOP Chairman Alex Triantafilou in a news release. “They are focused on securing Ohio’s future — growing our economy, protecting our communities, defending our freedoms, and standing up to the radical left’s agenda.”
The press release touted Ramaswamy’s plans “to take on the bureaucracy, restore parental rights, and return power to Ohio communities.”
Friday’s endorsement takes some wind out of the sails of a potential gubernatorial run from Tressel, the national championship-winning former Ohio State University football coach who was picked to replace Husted in DeWine’s administration. NBC News reported Thursday that Tressel was indeed considering a run.
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