Vivek Ramaswamy and Robert A. McColley

Republican

Governor and Lieutenant Governor · Summit County, Ohio · November 3, 2026

Also on the ballot: Amy Acton and David Pepper (Democratic), Don Kissick and James L. Mills (Libertarian)

Vivek Ramaswamy, an entrepreneur and 2024 presidential candidate endorsed by Donald Trump, is the Republican nominee for Ohio governor, campaigning on eliminating the income tax, cutting property taxes, expanding natural-gas energy production, and gun rights. His running mate is Ohio Senate President Rob McColley.

What this office decides

The governor proposes the two-year state budget, signs or vetoes bills (including line-item vetoes of spending), appoints the heads of state agencies, fills vacant judgeships, and sits on the Ohio Redistricting Commission. The governor and lieutenant governor are elected together on one ticket to four-year terms.

How this race lines up with you

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Dossier

Researched 2026-09-23 · Claude Code research agent with web search

Donald Trump: endorsed. Trump posted on Truth Social: "I know him well, competed against him, and he is something SPECIAL. He's Young, Strong, and Smart!" giving Ramaswamy his "COMPLETE AND TOTAL ENDORSEMENT" (Feb. 24, 2025). source

Ohio Republican Party (for) source
National Rifle Association Political Victory Fund (for) source
Buckeye Firearms Association PAC (for) source
Ohio Chamber of Commerce (for) source

Who they are

Vivek Ramaswamy is an entrepreneur and 2024 presidential candidate who co-chaired the Department of Government Efficiency before running (Yahoo News). He won the Ohio GOP's May 2025 endorsement (WCPO). Running mate Rob McColley is the sitting Ohio Senate President (Wikipedia).

Positions

Taxes & spending: "Phase out the state income tax—starting with eliminating capital gains taxes," and "slash property taxes immediately" (Ramaswamy campaign site).
Schools: Pledges to "raise academic standards," "pay our best teachers more," and expand career-technical education (Ramaswamy campaign site).
Health care: Wants to "crush Medicaid fraud by the billions and put that money back in the pockets of law-abiding Ohioans" (Statehouse News Bureau).
Personal freedom: "Unapologetically pro-life" in his 2023 presidential run (search snippet, Heartland Signal); his 2026 platform does not address abortion (Ramaswamy campaign site).
Energy & environment: Would "expand natural gas and deploy innovative energy technologies to reduce electric bills" (Ramaswamy campaign site).
Gun policy: "Ohio gun owners and sportsmen know I will always fight to defend their rights, their freedoms, and their ability to protect their families" (Ramaswamy campaign site).

Record

Never held office; founded a pharmaceutical company and co-chaired DOGE in 2025 (search snippet, Ballotpedia - blocked).

Money

Loaned his campaign $25 million and raised $14.4 million from donors by April 2026, including $5 million from Elon Musk (search snippet, Ohio Capital Journal - blocked); spent over $21 million by late August (Statehouse News Bureau).

What we couldn't find

Ballotpedia and a finance page were blocked; used search snippets.
No primary/outlet source for a 2026 immigration stance; an aggregator's claim was dropped as unverified.

Sources (14)