Vivek Ramaswamy has filed his paperwork and set the date to start his bid for governor of Ohio, replacing current Republican Governor Mike DeWine, who cannot run again due to term limits.
Why It Matters
Ramaswamy indicated that he would run for governor shortly into his partnership with Elon Musk and the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). He ended up departing DOGE, which is an unofficial task force created by executive order, just one day after President Donald Trump took office.
His departure from DOGE sparked rumors that he would seek the governor’s office in Ohio, to which he said at the time he would “have more to say very soon about my future plans in Ohio.”
Ramaswamy, the son of Indian Hindu immigrant parents, was born in Cincinnati, Ohio. He reportedly owns a mansion in Upper Arlington, a city just northwest of Columbus, that he bought in 2021. He has an estimated net worth at least $1.1 billion, according to Forbes.
DeWine has served two terms and therefore cannot seek re-election in 2026, which has opened up a potentially bruising and costly campaign among gubernatorial candidates after he picked his lieutenant governor, Jon Husted, to fill Vice President JD Vance‘s vacant U.S. Senate seat.
What To Know
The New York Times last month reported that Ramaswamy revealed his plans to Ohio allies after learning he would not be DeWine’s pick for Vance’s vacant seat.
The primary for the Republican nomination is already busting with strong candidates, including Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost and Heather Hill, a former member of the state Martin Luthor King Commission. Five Ohio’s last six governors, including DeWine, have been Republicans, making it likely that a Republican candidate will replace him in what is now a staunchly red state.
The timing of his announcement coincides with data showing that he has built up a considerable lead: A memo from survey firm Fabrizio, Lee & Associates stated that its research found Ramaswamy “holds a huge lead over his potential competitors in the Republican nomination for Ohio governor.”
“Among an electorate where President Trump and Vice President Vance are universally beloved, America First candidate Ramaswamy is undoubtedly the frontrunner to win the GOP nomination,” the firm wrote, citing the “overwhelmingly positive views of President Trump & VP Vance” of more than 90 percent favorability in the state.
A survey by the firm found Ramaswamy has a 65 percent favorability compared to nine percent unfavorable, which beats Yost, who has “a near identical number of Ohio [Republican primary voters]” (RPV) and a favorability of 51 percent.
My friend @VivekGRamaswamy has a bold vision to move Ohio forward.If he decides to run for governor, he will have my full support. And together, we will ensure a bright future for the Buckeye State! pic.twitter.com/tIbASmYNeL
— Frank LaRose (@FrankLaRose) February 11, 2025
The firm also asserts that Ramaswamy wins 52 percent of the vote for the Republican nomination, while Yost – marked as a “distant 2nd” – has only 18 percent support. Around 27 percent of all RPVs remain undecided.
Fabrizio, Lee & Associates surveyed 600 likely voters from January 26-27, 2025, with interviews conducted by live-operator cell phone calls, live-operator landline and SMS-to-web survey. The margin of sampling error was plus or minus four percent at 95 percent confidence.
WPA Intelligence, another survey firm, agreed that Ramaswamy has a “commanding lead” over his rivals, with 57 percent support compared to Yost with 26 percent. Only around 10 percent of voters remain undecided according to WPAI’s poll.
Key to WPAI’s polling is that they found Ramaswamy wins among voters who “know the most about him and Dave Yost,” where Ramaswamy has 72 percent of the vote compared to Yost with 20 percent, and just three percent of voters undecided.
The firm determined that if Trump endorsed Ramaswamy, it would give him a 10 point bump that would all but secure the nomination for him.
WPAi conducted it’s poll of 600 likely Republican primary voters in Ohio, collected January 28-30, 2025, by a live telephone interview and SMS-to-web surveys. The survey has a margin of error of plus or minus four percent at 95 percent confidence.
What People Are Saying
Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose earlier this week posted on X, formerly Twitter: “My friend [Vivek Ramaswamy] has a bold vision to move Ohio forward. If he decides to run for governor, he will have my full support. And together, we will ensure a bright future for the Buckeye State!”
Ohio Treasurer of State Robert Sprague last week dropped out of the race and endorsed Ramaswamy, writing on X: “I believe [Vivek Ramaswamy] is the leader we need to lead Ohio forward with a bold vision of conversation reform. Should he run for Governor, he will have my full support!”
What Happens Next
Ramaswamy has set February 24 in Cincinnati as the launch date and location for his bid, with further announcements over two days in the Columbus, Toledo and Cleveland areas, according to The Associated Press. He will start at the CTL Aerospace, Inc headquarters before heading to Axium Packaging later that evening.
The post Vivek Ramaswamy’s Chances of Winning Ohio Governor’s Race: Polls appeared first on Newsweek.
