CINCINNATI — Vivek Ramaswamy, the Cincinnati native who first made headlines when running for president in 2024, is the Republican nominee for Ohio governor, winning Tuesday's primary against Casey Putsch.
The biotech businessman and St. Xavier High School graduate has been the gubernatorial frontrunner since leaving President Donald Trump's Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) and announcing his campaign in early 2025.
At the time, Trump posted on his Truth Social platform that Ramaswamy "will be a GREAT Governor of Ohio, will never let you down, and has my COMPLETE AND TOTAL ENDORSEMENT."
During his campaign, the 40-year-old has focused on transforming Ohio's education system and becoming more financially transparent. Ramaswamy has pushed for shutting down "subpar" public colleges and universities and creating a plan to turn Ohio into a zero-income-tax state.
He'll battle Amy Acton, Ohio's former health director who ran unopposed in the Democratic primary, to succeed term-limited Gov. Mike DeWine this November.
While Tuesday marks the first day that Ramaswamy is officially the Republican nominee, the primary hasn't stopped him and Acton, 60, from airing advertisements opposing one another in the past few months.
Watch our most recent interview with Ramaswamy here:
WCPO's Adrian Whitsett and Tanya O'Rourke spoke with both candidates about their campaign and their opponent. Acton called Ramaswamy "out of touch and possibly dangerous," declaring some of the policies that he's introduced "reckless."
"What we need aren't folks who are working for special interests and elite billionaires," she said. "We need folks that understand the problems of everyday Ohioans that listen and listen deeply, and fight every day."
Ramaswamy, though, said his work building major businesses has prepared him for the path.
"If you listen to my opponent, with due respect, I think she's articulated no vision for the state, but constantly criticizes me for, in her words, being a billionaire," Ramaswamy said. "Well, you know what? I view success is something we should celebrate and actually ensure that every kid in the state is able to achieve that same success at an even bigger scale..."
You can watch our full interview with both candidates and their answers to our top three questions here.
