Vivek Ramaswamy wins Republican nomination for Ohio governor after Trump’s endorsement

Acton, an unopposed doctor in the primary, has a well-known public profile and a strong fundraising base. That left Democrats hopeful he could lead the party back to the governorship for the first time in 20 years.

The state’s other key matchup for November was also determined on Tuesday; Former Sen. Sherrod Brown easily defeated his opponent in the Democratic primary and will try to unseat Sen. Jon Husted.
Democrats think they will flip the seat, relying on Brown’s previous popularity with voters. The Senate Leadership Fund, one of the GOP’s leading super PACs, pledged $79 million to defend Husted, who ran unopposed in the primary. U.S. Sen. Jon Husted secured the Republican Senate nomination in Ohio on Tuesday as he prepares for what is expected to be an expensive fight to retain his incumbent seat.

On the Democrats’ side, Dr. Amy Acton won the party’s nomination for governor. The state’s COVID-era state health director is pitching an unlikely matchup with Republican billionaire biotech entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy, who faces an opponent in the GOP primary.

Husted and Acton were unopposed in the primary.

Republican Vivek Ramaswamy spent his campaign for Ohio governor focusing on November’s general election, and former state health director Dr. She finally gets the chance to put the long primary season behind her on Tuesday as she prepares for an expensive race against Amy Acton.

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 new to state politics, Ramaswamy’s national profile, tech industry connections and closeness to Trump have earned him the support of the Ohio Republican Party. However, he cleared a possible field that included the incumbent 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. The president’s delayed support for the economy and dissatisfaction with the war in Iran are contributing to increased competition.

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.

“I think he’s real,” said Aaron Weiner, a real estate agent from Cincinnati who voted for Acton. “He’s been through hardships, so I think he can empathize with people who are struggling to get ahead.”

But the administration’s aggressive actions, such as shuttering businesses, closing schools and canceling elections, have also earned Acton many enemies and made him an occasional target of people upset with his pandemic policies; Some armed protesters showed up in front of his house.

Ramaswamy’s campaign has sought to capitalize on ongoing anger over pandemic restrictions with attacks on Acton’s role early in the crisis. Ramaswamy had been advising then-lieutenant governor Husted on economic issues related to the virus and started a company that profited from his role in vaccine development.

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.”

Paul Mussman, the Cincinnati voter who voted for Ramaswamy, said he thought being a relative newcomer to politics was an advantage.

Mussman said Ramaswamy would look at issues “from a new angle and not based on party affiliation”.

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 against Republican Bernie Moreno in 2024, a contest in which spending reached $500 million. 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 and the elimination of a four-day period for receiving mail ballots. So far there have been no reports of widespread issues with voters regarding the changes.

Republicans see some Democratic-held House seats vulnerable

The state also has several partisan congressional primaries following a new round of redistricting that slightly favored 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.

The five-way contest includes former state Rep. Derek Merrin, whom Kaptur defeated by less than a percentage point in 2024, as well as an Air National Guard veteran, a healthcare industry worker, an incumbent state representative and Madison Sheahan, the former deputy director of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

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 criticized Landsman for his initial vote against a war powers resolution regarding the war in Iran, which Landsman later followed up with an affirmative vote.

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

As Trump-backed national efforts to remake congressional maps in favor of Republicans continue, Ohio Democrats took a potentially worse approach and unanimously accepted 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.

In Northeast Ohio’s 14th District, former state Supreme Court Justice William O’Neill is among three Democrats seeking to challenge 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.