Vivek Ramaswamy

The Ohio Republican Party State Central Committee voted on Friday to endorse Vivek Ramaswamy for governor, in a blow to Gov. Mike DeWine (R-OH).

DeWine reportedly worked behind the scenes to block the 66-member committee from backing Ramaswamy, who has the support of President Donald Trump and Vice President JD Vance, a former Ohio senator.

Donald Trump is making sure Vivek Ramaswamy doesn’t come anywhere near the White House.

The president endorsed Ramaswamy for governor of Ohio on Monday night, a position the biotech entrepreneur pivoted to after being abruptly ousted as DOGE co-lead, likely in part due to his feuding with Elon Musk and calling white Americans lazy, stupid jocks. 

Vivek Ramaswamy formally declared his candidacy for Ohio governor on Monday during a rally in his hometown of Cincinnati where he outlined his plan to "revive our conviction" in the state of Ohio, where he says the "best days are still yet ahead."

Ramaswamy, a multimillionaire biotech entrepreneur and former Republican presidential candidate, for weeks has been moving towards launching a gubernatorial campaign in the 2026 race to succeed GOP Gov. Mike DeWine of Ohio, who is term-limited and cannot seek re-election.

Vivek Ramaswamy, a biotech entrepreneur and Donald Trump loyalist, announced his 2026 campaign for Ohio governor on Monday.

"I am running to be the governor of a great state at the heart of the greatest nation known to mankind," he told a crowd of supporters.

Former 2024 Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy announced that he is running to be the next governor of Ohio, noting that he would “lead Ohio to be the state of excellence” in the United States.

President Donald Trump and billionaire Elon Musk on Monday separately endorsed entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy in Ohio's gubernatorial race.

Ramaswamy, who ran against Trump in the 2024 GOP presidential primary, announced his candidacy earlier on Monday to replace term-limited Republican Gov. Mike DeWine in the 2026 election.

Trump announced his endorsement in a post to his social media platform Truth Social.

The Department of Government Efficiency was originally envisioned as a joint Elon Musk–Vivek Ramaswamy mission outside the federal government. Now it is all Elon—and he is inside.

Former GOP presidential nominee Vivek Ramaswamy, who was selected to co-lead the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) alongside tech mogul Elon Musk, will depart from the task force. The news comes after reports that Ramaswamy would be running for governor of Ohio, sources told CBS News.

Sources close to Musk have not spoken highly of Ramaswamy in recent weeks, with frustrations growing that the biotech multimillionaire wasn’t pulling his weight. There are also reports of friction between the incoming rank-and-file DOGE staff and Ramaswamy. 

Vivek Ramaswamy, President-elect Donald Trump's choice to co-lead the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) with entrepreneur Elon Musk, is expected to soon step away from the task force, CBS News has learned. Ramaswamy intends to announce a campaign for Ohio governor as soon as the end of January, multiple sources confirmed to CBS News.  

Ramaswamy, 39, had no comment. 

Vivek Ramaswamy reportedly intends to announce he'll run for governor of Ohio while also running the Department of Government Efficiency in Washington, D.C., according to a report.

The Washington Post reported the news Friday, citing a Ramaswamy insider, as Gov. Mike DeWine (R-OH) is term-limited.

This comes after President-elect Donald Trump urged Ramaswamy to replace Sen. J.D. Vance (R-OH). DeWine instead replaced him with Lt. Gov. Jon Husted.