On Monday, former Republican presidential primary candidate Vivek Ramaswamy entered the 2026 Ohio gubernatorial race, backed by President Donald Trump.
Asher Boiskin
Staff Reporter
Gage Skidmore via Wikimedia Commons
Vivek Ramaswamy LAW ’13, a former Republican presidential candidate and biotech entrepreneur, announced his candidacy for governor of Ohio on Monday, weeks after resigning from his Trump-appointed role as co-chair of the Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE.
Ohio Governor Mark DeWine is term-limited, leaving the seat open in 2026.
“President Trump is reviving our conviction in America,” Ramaswamy told supporters at a warehouse in Cincinnati. “We require a leader here at home who will revive our conviction in Ohio. That is why today I am honored to announce I am running to be the governor of a great state at the heart of the greatest nation known to mankind.”
Following his announcement, Ramaswamy secured endorsements from high-profile Republicans, including President Donald Trump and tech billionaire Elon Musk, his former DOGE co-chair.
“I know him very well, competed against him, and he is something SPECIAL,” Trump wrote on Truth Social. “He will be a GREAT Governor of Ohio, will never let you down, and has my COMPLETE AND TOTAL ENDORSEMENT!”
Ramaswamy, who lives in Ohio with his wife Apoorva Ramaswamy ’11 MED ’15 and their two sons, first gained national recognition as an outsider in the 2024 Republican presidential primary. After finishing fourth in the Iowa caucuses, he dropped out and endorsed Trump.
His endorsement led to speculations about a potential cabinet position in the Trump administration. Instead, he was appointed co-chair of DOGE, a position he held for just under seventy days before resigning.
His tenure at DOGE was reportedly tumultuous. Ramaswamy clashed with Musk and Trump’s inner circle, and in December, he drew controversy by writing on X — formerly Twitter — that “American culture has venerated mediocrity over excellence for way too long.” He also sparred with fellow Republicans in a contentious online debate over the H-1B visa policy.
Notably, Ramaswamy made no mention of his brief tenure at DOGE during his campaign launch, a move some analysts suggest was intentional. Ohio has more than 55,000 civilian federal workers, many of whom he might have targeted had he remained at DOGE.
By sidestepping discussion of his time at DOGE, Ramaswamy also avoided reminding voters of his previous political setbacks, including his failed presidential bid and speculation about an appointment to JD Vance’s LAW ’13 Senate seat, which ultimately went to Ohio Lt. Gov. Jon Husted.
Instead, Ramaswamy focused on his vision for Ohio, pledging to improve education; position the state as a leader in capitalism and meritocracy; and slash red tape, taxes and bureaucracy.
Ramaswamy also said that he wanted to “end the epidemic of depression, anxiety, fentanyl, opioid usage, and suicide that has festered in [Ohio].” He announced that he wants to “get the cell phones out of classrooms,” which scientists have attributed to declining academic performance and worsening mental health among students.
A Harvard College graduate, Ramaswamy attended Yale Law School, where he met Vance and joined Shabtai, a Jewish intellectual discussion society. He was also a recipient of the prestigious Paul and Daisy Soros Fellowships for New Americans, a graduate fellowship for immigrants and their children.
In November, Ramaswamy returned to Yale to deliver the keynote address at the 14th Annual Conference hosted by Yale’s Buckley Institute.
Ohio was the 17th state to join the union.
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