Endorsed by President Donald Trump and Elon Musk, with whom he once co-led Trump’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), Indian American biotech entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy announced Monday his bid for governor of Ohio in 2026.
“President Trump is reviving our conviction in America. We require a leader here at home who will revive our conviction in Ohio,” Ramaswamy, 39, told supporters at a rally in Cincinnati, just miles from where he grew up.
READ: DOGE leaders Elon Musk, Vivek Ramaswamy target 94% of remote federal workers (December 9, 2024)
“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 – the state where I was born and raised, the state where Apoorva and I raise our two sons today – a state whose best days are still ahead,” Ramaswamy said.
Ramaswamy said he spent “most of the last year” returning Trump to power. Like Trump was “reviving our conviction in America,” he said, he would “revive our conviction in Ohio.”
“If I screw something up in this speech, I can’t blame my speechwriter,” Ramaswamy said. “Because you’re looking at him.”
Trump endorsed Ramaswamy’s gubernatorial bid late Monday night, touting his former Republican primary opponent in a post on Truth Social as “something SPECIAL.”
“Vivek is also a very good person, who truly loves our Country. He will be a GREAT Governor of Ohio, will never let you down, and has my COMPLETE AND TOTAL ENDORSEMENT!” the president added.
“Good luck, you have my full endorsement!” Musk responded to Ramaswamy in a post on X. Musk’s endorsement sets at rest speculation about a power struggle that led to Ramaswamy’s exit from DOGE.
Ramaswamy’s entry into the race comes after Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost announced his candidacy last month to succeed term-limited Republican Gov. Mike DeWine in a race that could draw other GOP contenders. Former Ohio health director Amy Acton is running for the Democratic nomination. Trump won Ohio by 11 points in November’s election.
Ramaswamy had been tapped by Trump in November to co-lead DOGE. But his involvement with DOGE became uncertain after courted controversy with social media posts in December criticizing American cultural values, and he clashed with other Trump supporters over H-1B visas for highly skilled foreign workers.
Since his exit from DOGE, Ramaswamy has spent time traveling across Ohio and the country, drumming up excitement for his campaign launch, collecting endorsements from supporters-in-waiting, and sparring on social media while touting the Trump agenda, according to CNN.
Ramaswamy went to a Cleveland Cavaliers basketball game and greeted fans there in early February; days later he attended a comedy show in Columbus. In addition, he traveled to the Super Bowl in New Orleans and the Daytona 500 in West Palm Beach, Florida — both events also attended by Trump.
Meanwhile, the list of Ramaswamy endorsers has grown in anticipation of his formal entry to the race. Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose pre-endorsed Ramaswamy earlier this month, writing on social media, “If he decides to run for governor, he will have my full support.” State Treasurer Robert Sprague and several GOP US senators also voiced support for Ramaswamy, including Utah Sen. Mike Lee, Florida Sen. Rick Scott and Tennessee Sen. Marsha Blackburn.
Ramaswamy is a recent newcomer to politics, having significantly elevated his profile over the course of a long-shot 2024 presidential campaign — his first run for office, though he had considered running for US Senate in Ohio in 2022.
He launched his White House bid in February 2023 as a little-known former biotech executive whose books “Woke, Inc.” and “Nation of Victims” had given him a growing status in right-wing media. Using his personal fortune, estimated to be in the hundreds of millions, Ramaswamy was able to seed his campaign and gain national prominence.
And despite challenging Trump, Ramaswamy assiduously avoided criticizing the former president during the contest, instead praising Trump’s agenda and making a name for himself with a series of confrontational media appearances, anti-establishment messaging and controversial policy proposals.
Ramaswamy also made a splash at the Republican presidential primary debates (which Trump skipped), lacing into his Republican rivals and drawing sharp rebukes from his opponents — including former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, who called him “just scum” during one contentious exchange.
Ramaswamy, the son of Indian immigrants, was raised in Cincinnati. He graduated from Harvard University with a degree in biology before earning a law degree from Yale University.
READ: Will Vivek Ramaswamy withdraw from DOGE? (January 20, 2025)
In 2014, he founded Roivant, the source of the bulk of his fortune. The company targets drugs that large pharmaceutical companies have shelved because they didn’t fit into the company’s business model. Roivant would buy the right to develop those drugs and share the profits with the original company. The “roi” in the company’s names stands for return on investment.
After Roivant, Ramaswamy helped start Strive Asset Management, an investment management firm that earned a reputation for refusing to consider “woke” ideology in investment decisions, including environmental, social and corporate governance factors — positions he frequently pointed to on the trail.