Vivek Ramaswamy wins Ohio Republican gubernatorial primary

Vivek Ramaswamy won the Ohio gubernatorial primary. The businessman won handily against his only rival in the Republican primary, Casey Putsch. He will face Democrat Amy Acton in the November election.

Initially, Ramaswamy was running against Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost, who later withdrew his candidacy and endorsed the Roivant Sciences founder. The businessman, the son of Indian immigrants, then competed against Casey Putsch, a YouTuber politician. With more than 40% of the votes counted, Ramaswamy won 82% of the vote, compared with 17% for Putsch.

"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," the Republican candidate said during his victory speech.

The author of "Woke, Inc.: Inside Corporate America's Social Justice Scam" had the support of Donald Trump, who again reiterated it just hours before the vote. "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," the president wrote on Truth Social.

As his running mate, Ramaswamy chose Rob McColley, a young but powerful state lawmaker who currently chairs the Ohio Senate.

The Republican will face Democrat Amy Acton, who was director of the Ohio Department of Health from 2019 to 2020. For voters in the Buckeye State, Acton is the visible face of COVID-19 restrictions, which could play against her at the polls in November.

Ramaswamy, 40, aspires to replace current governor Mike DeWine, who will serve the maximum of two consecutive terms. In all, 10 Republican governors will be ineligible for re-election in 2026. They also include Ron DeSantis of Florida, Brian Kemp of Georgia, Kay Ivey of Alabama and Bill Lee of Tennessee.

Other Ohio primaries

The Republican who replaced JD Vance in the Senate after ascending to the vice presidency was Jon Husted. The former lieutenant governor won the Senate primary unopposed and will face former Democratic senator Sherrod Brown. The Democrat defeated Ron Kincaid in the primary.

Other Republicans who won their primaries include Robert Sprague, who will face Democrat Allison Russo in the race for secretary of state. In the attorney general race, Republican Keith Faber won the primary unopposed and will face off against Democrat John Kulewicz.

One of the most closely watched House primaries was in the 9th District. There, Madison Sheahan — a former deputy director of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) — was on the ballot. The 28-year-old resigned from her post in January to run for office. However, she was defeated by former state Rep. Derek Merrin, who won with 43% of the vote. Josh Williams trailed with 25%, while Sheahan finished third with 23%.