Ramaswamy looks to put primary behind him and turn to expensive fall campaign for Ohio governor
COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — Republican Vivek Ramaswamy spends his campaign for governor of Ohio focused The Trump-backed biotech entrepreneur finally gets a chance to put the long primary season behind him on Tuesday after November’s general election. Dr. Amy Actonformer state health director.
The contests on the ballot will also set the stage for Ohio’s third competitive U.S. Senate race in four years and a handful of U.S. House races expected to be closely fought in the fall.
This year, all executive offices statewide are open due to term limits, but the governor’s race has drawn most of the attention so far.
Ramaswamy, the GOP’s 2024 primary presidential candidate, burst onto the state’s political scene early last year amid wild upheaval. Then-You. J.D. Vance was ascending to the vice presidency, and leading gubernatorial candidate Jon Husted was being appointed to replace him in Washington.
That opened a window of opportunity at the top of the Republicans’ statewide ticket.
Sets up fall matchups for primary, governor and Senate
Although he is new to state politics, Ramaswamy’s national profile and tech industry connections closeness to Trump earned him the support of the Ohio Republican Party. However, it did clear a possible area that included seating. state attorney general, state treasurer And lieutenant governor.
But Democrats also saw the opportunity for an open governor’s seat, even though the state, a former bellwether, had tilted convincingly to Republicans under Trump. President’s delayed approval ratings Concerns about the economy and dissatisfaction with the war in Iran contribute to a competitive rivalry.
Acton, a physician and public health expert, emerged as their choice. He became a household name in Ohio in the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic by standing alongside Republican Gov. Mike DeWine during his daily coronavirus broadcasts. His comforting presence during the crisis made him a beloved figure among many Ohioans.
But the administration’s aggressive actions, such as shuttering businesses, shuttering schools and canceling elections, have also earned Acton many enemies and made him an occasional target of people upset with his pandemic policies, and some armed protesters have also turned out. outside your house. Ramaswamy’s campaign tried to turn it into capital to ongoing anger over pandemic restrictions, with attacks on Acton’s role early in the crisis.
While Acton is unopposed in the Democratic primary, Ramaswamy faces a long-term challenge from Casey Putsch. The engineer and car designer is a YouTube provocateur who constantly trolls Ramaswamy about his Indian heritage and Hindu faith, painting him as an out-of-touch billionaire “tech bro.”
Husted is unopposed in the GOP primary for Senate, a special election that will fill the remainder of the six-year Senate term Vance wins in 2022. Husted’s likely opponent will be Democrat Sherrod Brown, a former three-term senator who lost his re-election bid to Republican Bernie Moreno in 2024. Expenditure reached 500 million dollars. Brown faces a minor primary challenge from first-time candidate Ron Kincaid.
Early voting began April 7 under some new election laws, including citizenship checks. removal of the four-day grace period to receive mail-in ballots. So far there have been no reports of widespread issues with voters regarding the changes.
Republicans see some Democratic-held House seats vulnerable
After an incident new round of redistricting The state also has numerous partisan congressional primaries, although they are slightly favored by Republicans.
The GOP’s hottest primary is in Toledo’s 9th District for a chance to face U.S. Rep. Marcy Kaptur, the longest-serving female Democrat in Congress.
Former state representative Derek Merrin is also participating in the five-way contest. Kaptur was defeated by less than a percentage point in 2024, as well as an Air National Guard veteran, a healthcare industry worker, a sitting state representative and a former deputy director of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Madison Sheahan.
The three-way Republican primary in the Cincinnati district that Democratic U.S. Rep. Greg Landsman considers his party’s “must-have” includes CIA and Air Force veteran Eric Conroy, who is backed by Trump, Vance and Moreno.
Landsman also faces a significant challenge from Damon Lynch IV, the grandson of a prominent civil rights leader. Lynch criticizes Landsman for first vote war powers decision Landsman later wrote about the war in Iran upvote.
In Akron’s 13th District, five Republicans, including business owner Neil Patel, a 2022 U.S. Senate candidate, are vying for the opportunity to face Democratic U.S. Rep. Emilia Sykes.
Democrats think new House maps give them a chance to win seats
aspect Trump-backed national effort As efforts to reshuffle congressional maps in favor of Republicans continued, Ohio Democrats took a could-be-worse approach and unanimously approved the map they were given.
Now party candidates are filling out statewide congressional primaries for a chance to compete with Republican representatives who hold 10 of Ohio’s 15 seats.
The newly redrawn 7th District in the Cleveland area has attracted eight Democrats hoping to challenge Republican U.S. Rep. Max Miller, a former Trump adviser, in November. They include former Cuyahoga County Executive Ed FitzGerald, who was the Democratic nominee for governor in 2014.
Former state Supreme Court Justice, Northeast Ohio’s 14th District William O’Neill He is one of three Democrats seeking to defeat Republican U.S. Rep. Dave Joyce. Joyce also has two main rivals.
Meanwhile, six Democrats are on the ballot in Republican U.S. Rep. Mike Turner’s 10th District in Dayton. There are seven in GOP U.S. Rep. Michael Rulli’s 6th District along the Ohio River, and five in Republican U.S. Rep. Bob Latta’s 5th District.
