Businessman and former presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy handily won the Republican gubernatorial primary contest in Ohio on Tuesday night.
Ramaswamy received 141,739 votes, or 84.57 percent of the vote in order to cruise to a resounding win over Republican challenger Casey Putsch, who received a little more than 15 percent of the vote.
The result is not particularly surprising, as Ramaswamy entered the race as the clear frontrunner. A biotech entrepreneur and 2024 Republican presidential candidate, he secured the endorsement of President Donald Trump and an early endorsement from the Ohio Republican Party’s central committee in May 2025. All told, the party voted 60-3 in favor of Ramaswamy after an initial 51-13 vote to endorse in the race
Ramaswamy also benefited from national name recognition and self-funding that exceeded $25 million. He ran on a platform that included proposals to abolish the state income tax, reduce property taxes and accelerate technology growth in the state.
Putsch, an automobile designer from northwest Ohio and founder of the Genius Garage nonprofit educational program, positioned himself as a challenger aligned with self-described America First priorities. He faced significant criticism throughout the race, as he frequently attacked Ramaswamy’s Indian heritage and made numerous controversial remarks.
Incumbent Republican Governor Mike DeWine is term-limited, which created an open seat ahead of the primary. Ohio has not elected a Democrat governor since 2006 and has not elected a Democrat to any statewide partisan office since 2018.
BREAKING: Decision Desk HQ projects Vivek Ramaswamy wins the OH Governor Republican Primary pic.twitter.com/Q0EXYiypg8
— Breaking911 (@Breaking911) May 5, 2026
In the November general election, Ramaswamy will face Democrat Amy Acton. Acton, Ohio’s former health director during the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic, won her party’s nomination unopposed.
RealClearPolling’s average of surveys conducted from December 2025 through mid-April 2026 showed a tight race, with Acton at 46.3 percent and Ramaswamy at 46.0 percent, for an Acton lead of 0.3 percentage points. Individual polls from that period, including those from Bowling Green State University and Emerson College, placed the candidates within a few points of each other.
