Saying “Losing is not an option,” Trump-backed Indian American biotech entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy is ready to pour $30 million of his own money into Ohio governor’s race.
Ramaswamy, 39, who fueled his campaign for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination with over $30 million of his own money before dropping out in favor of Donald Trump told Fox News Digital, “we are prepared to invest at the same scale or greater.”
“Whatever is required to ensure that we’re successful in really leading the state to the next level,” Ramaswamy said. “Losing this race is not an option. Winning is the only option, and we’re going to win it. And I think that that will require resources of every form.”
Ramaswamy has raised nearly $10 million since he jumped into the race in late February, according to his campaign touting it as a “record for the largest first-quarter fundraising total in state history.”
READ: Trump alleges U.S. funds misused for Indian election kickbacks (February 21, 2025)
“I think it says that we have unprecedented support in our state, and that is a beautiful thing to see this early in a Republican race,” Ramaswamy said. “And I think that that’s a powerful signal of unity.”
Ramaswamy, who has been endorsed by President Donald Trump, noted he’s the only major Republican candidate right now in the race to succeed term-limited Republican Gov. Mike DeWine.
“I’m running unopposed in a Republican primary in a state that is certainly leaning reliably red, and I’m proud to say that we have united, not just the Republicans in Ohio, but we are beginning to draw support from a wide range of nontraditional Republican backers, entrepreneurs, younger people,” he added.
Asked if he has any concerns about facing a competitive primary, Ramaswamy said, “None, zero.” But he “would love the Democrats to have a competitive primary while I continue to run unopposed in this race.”
Ramaswamy suggested it didn’t matter who the Democrats nominate because “it’s not who we’re running against, it’s what we’re actually running for.”
“I think we have incredible strength,” he added before predicting “that we’re going to defeat whoever we are up against by, I believe, a decisive margin.”
Trump, in the days after his November victory, named his top donor Elon Musk along with Ramaswamy, to steer the newly announced Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) initiative. But shortly after inauguration, Ramaswamy left to quickly move toward launching a run for governor.
Ramaswamy was raised in Evendale, Ohio, in suburban Cincinnati by parents who emigrated from India. His father worked as an engineer at General Electric Aviation, and his mother was a geriatric psychiatrist. Ramaswamy and his family live in suburban Columbus.
READ: Indian American Impact Fund endorses 7 South Asians for 2025 elections (March 25, 2025)
The candidate noted that “one of my core areas of focus that I think is really resonating, is elevating the standards of educational achievement in our state.”
“The No. 1 issue that I see resonating across the board, in a non-partisan manner, is the recognition that we are in the middle of this educational achievement crisis,” he added.
And Ramaswamy insisted that “anybody who’s a parent, or even anybody who’s a young person recently graduating from school, recognizes that this is going to be an issue that we have to turn around, to preserve our place, the leading country in the world, and that is the project that we are going to make Ohio ground zero for in the United States.”