Ramaswamy wins Republican nomination for Ohio governor

Columbus: Republican Vivek Ramaswamy will run for the position of Ohio governor in November, after the staunch ally of US President Donald Trump emerged victorious in one of a series of primary contests held in the US Midwest. Projected results on Tuesday night showed the health-tech entrepreneur had defeated Casey Putsch to earn the Republican nomination.

Ramaswamy, who gained prominence during his unsuccessful run against Trump for president in 2024, said at a victory party his plan was to “leave this state and this cou­ntry better than we found it”.

Meanwhile, Democratic candidate Amy Acton, who ran unopposed for her party’s own nomination, told supporters she wanted to make Ohio more affordable again.

“It shouldn’t be this hard,” said Acton, who is the former Ohio public health director. 

“It is time to put working families first.”

Trump himself hailed Ramaswamy in a flurry of social media posts that announced victories for various candidates he had backed in primary races — notably in Indiana.

In that state, at least five Trump-endorsed candidates for the state senate unseated incumbent Republican candidates who had opposed the president's plan to redraw the state’s voting map for the House of Representatives.

Analysts saw the state as a key test of Trump’s grip over the Republican Party ahead of this year’s midterm elections, which will also be held in November.

In his intervention in the Ohio contest, Trump had earlier written of Ramaswamy: ‘I know Vivek well, competed against him, and he is something special. He is Young, Strong, and Smart!”

Vice-President JD Vance, who previously represented Ohio in the US Senate, had signalled his own endorsement by travelling to Cincinnati on Tuesday to cast his ballot for Ramaswamy and others.

The state has shifted towards Republicans in recent years, and Ramaswamy benefited from name recognition and shuffling in the top ranks of the state’s Republican Party caused by the ascension of Vance to the vice-presidency.

Ohio’s current governor, Republican Mike DeWine, cannot run for re-election because of term limits.

Ramaswamy burst onto the national political scene in 2023 as a newcomer with a knack for using social media and podcast appearances to bolster his image.