COLUMBUS, Ohio — Ohio Lieutenant Governor Jim Tressel announced Friday he will not seek to become Ohio's governor in 2026.
Previously, Tressel made vague remarks that he was considering a run for Ohio governor, though he never gave a concrete response when asked.
Tressel, best known in the state for his time as an Ohio State Buckeyes football coach, was tapped to fill the role of lieutenant governor in February. That announcement came just one month after Governor Mike DeWine announced he'd chosen his then-lieutenant governor, Jon Husted, to fill an Ohio Senate seat vacated by Vice President JD Vance.
After considerable thought and prayer, we have decided not to run for Governor in 2026. pic.twitter.com/iKR8KmMqdE
— Lt. Governor Jim Tressel (@LtGovJimTressel) September 19, 2025
On social media, Tressel called serving alongside DeWine "an extraordinary honor of a lifetime," but said he decided not to run for governor in 2026.
"I believe that our crucial opportunities in the areas of education and workforce deserve my full attention for the remainder of our term," Tressel wrote on social media. "My goal is to help finis the amazing work started by the DeWine-Husted Administration. Ohio is winning and it must continue."
Tressel has recently been touring the state, visiting schools throughout Ohio as part of the Team Tressel Fitness Challenge, an effort he and DeWine created to help improve health in Ohio schools. Tressel said the challenge is serving over 182,000 students in Ohio schools.
"By helping students build lifelong habits around fitness, nutrition and sleep, we're laying the foundation for a brighter future in the classroom, in the workforce and across every community in the Buckeye State," reads Tressel's announcement. "This is more than a challenge; it's a movement that will truly make a difference."
Tressel retired a year and a half ago as president of Youngstown State University, a job he had held since 2014.
When he was chosen to step into Husted's shoes, DeWine called Tressel "a natural leader."
“He has the requisite skill sets, he has the criteria that I outlined. He knows Ohio,” DeWine said. “Jim Tressel, I trust his judgment. He is a born leader.”
In 2026, DeWine must retire from his role as governor due to term limits.
Vivek Ramaswamy, 39, former co-chair of President Donald Trump’s Department of Government Efficiency initiative, won the Ohio Republican Party's gubernatorial endorsement in May. The Cincinnati businessman also won President Donald Trump's endorsement, but not from the top executive in Ohio.
DeWine has held off on announcing an endorsement in any candidate, and has repeatedly avoided talking about Ramaswamy. However, DeWine has said he will support the Republican nominee no matter who it is.
"I'm the governor of the state, Republican governor," DeWine said in August. "I'm gonna support the Republican nominee for governor and other statewide offices."
On the Democrat side, former Ohio Health Director Amy Acton announced her run for governor in January. The doctor from Youngstown has already broken fundraising records for a Democratic candidate early with $1.4 million, and she said bipartisanship will be key to her campaign.
"I am a doctor, advocate, and problem-solver," Acton said on her campaign website when she announced her run. "I'm running for Governor because I refuse to look away from Ohioans who are struggling and it’s time to give power back to the people and our communities."
But it's still unclear whether Acton will be the only Democrat vying for the seat.
Now that former U.S. Senator Sherrod Brown is expected to run to reclaim a Senate seat, former Congressman Tim Ryan's spokesperson said this has “renewed and heightened Tim Ryan’s interest in running for governor to further serve the people of Ohio.”
