OAN Staff Katherine Mosack
5:20 PM – Tuesday, May 5, 2026
Biotech entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy has defeated Casey Putsch in the Republican gubernatorial primary election and will now face off against Democrat Dr. Amy Acton in November to fill term-limited Governor Mike DeWine’s office, according to the Associated Press.
With 6% of votes counted, Ramaswamy, 40, received 85.8% of the vote to Putsch’s 14.2% on Tuesday.
Trending: Kamala Harris endorses L.A. Mayor Karen Bass for reelection
Last November, President Donald Trump officially endorsed Ramaswamy, also a former presidential candidate, as his choice for governor.
“I know Vivek well, competed against him, and he is something SPECIAL. He is Young, Strong, and Smart! Vivek is also a very good person, who truly loves our Country,” Trump gushed at the time, emphasizing that he won Ohio’s presidential elections “THREE TIMES.”
“As your next Governor, Vivek will fight tirelessly to Grow the Economy, Cut Taxes and Regulations, Promote MADE IN THE U.S.A., Champion American Energy DOMINANCE, Keep our now very Secure Border, SECURE, Stop Migrant Crime, Strengthen our Military/Veterans, Ensure LAW AND ORDER, Advance Election Integrity, and Protect our always under siege Second Amendment. Vivek Ramaswamy will be a GREAT Governor of Ohio, and has my Complete and Total Endorsement – HE WILL NEVER LET YOU DOWN!” Trump wrote.
He reiterated his support in another post on Tuesday afternoon.
Ramaswamy, a Cincinnati native, has three children with his wife, Dr. Apoorva Ramaswamy, a throat surgeon at Ohio State University who had the honor of announcing her husband’s victory at an election night party.
She invited one of their sons to the microphone to exclaim, “O-H,” to which the crowd replied, “I-O,” in celebration.
“I believe we have a historic opportunity to lead Ohio not just to be the best state in the Midwest, because we are already the best in the Midwest. We have a historic opportunity to lead Ohio to be the top state in the country to raise a young family, to give our kids a world-class education, and to be the state where we revive this quaint idea that we call the American Dream,” Ramaswamy stated upon the news that he won.
A Harvard University and Yale Law graduate, he began his career on Wall Street trading biotech stocks for the New York hedge fund, QVT. He founded Roivant Sciences in 2014, “with the aim to improve the lives of patients by accelerating the development and commercialization of medicines that matter,” according to the company’s website. He left the company in 2020 to focus on writing his New York Times bestseller, “Woke, Inc.”
Ramaswamy later helped Tesla CEO Elon Musk found the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) as its co-head at the beginning of the second Trump administration.
First on the agenda for Ramaswamy as governor is to “slash” property taxes and “phase out” the state income tax. Consistent with his work at DOGE, he plans to also “cut government bloat so our government lives within its means — not yours.”
He also “wants Ohio to be the top state in the nation for children to receive a world-class education that prepares them for real life.” This includes raising academic standards, empowering parents with transparency and school choice, raising teachers’ compensation, promoting healthy meals and physical education, and expanding “career-technical education.”
Ramaswamy also positioned himself as a “law and order” candidate, promising to “enforce stricter bail and sentencing” and “back the blue.”
Individuals who also endorsed Ramaswamy include Vice President JD Vance, late Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk and incumbent Governor DeWine (R-Ohio).
Vivek will run against Acton, who hopes to flip the governorship in the November general election. She is endorsed by Planned Parenthood of Greater Ohio, the Ohio Education Foundation, Nurses for America and other organizations.
Stay informed! Receive breaking news blasts directly to your inbox for free. Subscribe here. https://www.oann.com/alerts
What do YOU think? Click here to jump to the comments!
Join the conversation!
Please share your thoughts about this article below. We value your opinions, and would love to see you add to the discussion!