By Luca Filigenzi, Local News Editor

Last week, former Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) leader and candidate in the 2024 Republican presidential primaries Vivek Ramaswamy announced his candidacy for the 2026 Ohio Gubernatorial election. This announcement came right after he left DOGE, and he has already received President Donald Trump’s endorsement.

Journalists and political analysts speculated that Ramaswamy’s departure from DOGE could be because Ramaswamy wanted to prepare for a gubernatorial run, with current Governor Mike DeWine being term-limited from running again in 2026. A vacuum was left in the candidate pool when Lieutenant Governor Jon Husted was appointed to fill JD Vance’s Senate seat and, thus decided not to run for Governor.

Ramaswamy officially announced his candidacy at a rally in Cincinnati on Feb 24. Later that night, Trump announced his full endorsement for Ramaswamy’s campaign. In the last week, the issues Ramaswamy has discussed the most include changing teacher’s pay to reflect merit and ending the state income tax. 

If Ramaswamy wins the primary, he will be the first Ohioan of Indian descent to be nominated for Governor. If he wins, the third in the country to become Governor (behind Nikki Haley and Bobby Jindal). He would also become the first non-white Governor of Ohio, the first millennial governor, the youngest Ohio governor as well as the first Cincinnatian governor in over 50 years.

 Ramaswamy, a Cincinnati native who attended St. Xavier High School, was not always heavily involved in politics. While he has a history of making arms-length donations to several candidates from both parties, his first notable endeavor in politics was when he threw his hat into the 2024 presidential primaries. After a fourth-place finish at the Iowa caucus, Ramaswamy suspended his campaign and endorsed Trump.

After Trump won the 2024 election and was sworn in, he created DOGE with the aim of eliminating“less than useful” government spending. Trump set its leaders to be billionaire Elon Musk and Ramaswamy. Less than two days after the initiative began, Ramaswamy left, but confirmed that relations with Musk and Trump remained positive.

“The response from the Republican party has been generally positive, with many hoping that Trump’s endorsement will lead to a quick and painless primary,” Junior, Business major, and President of the Xavier Chapter of College Republicans Carter Long said about Ramaswamy’s run for governor.

“I’m happy to see Vivek running … His ideas he’s talked about for years are really interesting,” Long said.

When asked what Trump’s endorsement this early may mean for the primaries, Long stated:

“Trump does quite well in Ohio; it would be silly to suggest his endorsement isn’t a big deal,” he said about the impact Trump’s endorsement may have this early in the race. “But the election is far from over, we are a ways out and anything can happen.” 

Long confirmed College Republicans have not made an official endorsement for the 2026 Ohio Gubernatorial election. 

As of right now, only two other candidates have declared themselves for the Republican primary: Heather Hill from the Morgan County School Board and Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost, are the other two confirmed candidates. Also with Democrat and former chair of the Ohio Department of Health Director, Amy Acton, officially running. The race for who Ohio’s next governor will be has begun.