On the night Vivek Ramaswamy launched his campaign to become Ohio’s next governor, former President Donald Trump didn’t wait for the dust to settle. He endorsed Ramaswamy without hesitation, drawing a clear line between the MAGA future and the Republican old guard. Now, two months later, the tremors from that moment are rattling the very core of the Ohio GOP—and it’s Governor Mike DeWine who finds himself in the crosshairs.
While Ramaswamy has surged ahead in early polling, filled auditoriums across Ohio, and won the support of both Trump and Vice President JD Vance, DeWine is working behind the scenes to delay, if not derail, the party’s official endorsement of the young biotech entrepreneur.
According to sources close to the state’s Republican leadership, the governor is pressuring members of the Ohio GOP’s central committee to hold off when they meet this Friday, even as momentum continues to swing decisively in Ramaswamy’s direction.
The internal tug-of-war could not be more emblematic. DeWine, a pillar of the GOP establishment, is clinging to a model of cautious, consensus-driven politics that seems increasingly out of sync with the party base. Ramaswamy, on the other hand, represents a bold new chapter—unapologetically pro-Trump, media-savvy, and disruptive in all the ways that have come to define the post-2016 Republican Party.
Sources say DeWine isn’t officially backing another candidate—yet. But the governor’s recent alliance with football legend Jim Tressel, now his lieutenant governor, has sparked widespread speculation. If DeWine can forestall a Ramaswamy endorsement long enough, some believe he’s hoping to coax Tressel into the race. But that move risks alienating a base that has already made its voice clear. And Tressel? He hasn’t exactly taken the field.
Despite DeWine’s efforts to preserve flexibility, his maneuvering is drawing criticism. One Ramaswamy ally framed it bluntly: “The establishment isn’t just out of touch — it’s out of time.” It’s a hard point to argue when early polling shows Ramaswamy comfortably ahead of not just Tressel, but also Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost, who has echoed DeWine’s call to delay and avoid what he calls a “coronation.”
But even that comparison is telling. Yost cited the Democratic Party’s rapid rally behind Kamala Harris after Biden’s exit last year as a warning. What he failed to acknowledge is that, unlike Harris, Ramaswamy is already rallying the voters, not the party elite.
The Trump factor here is critical. Unlike in 2018—when Trump stayed out of the Ohio primary—the former president is now squarely in Ramaswamy’s corner, and that changes everything. Trump’s backing helped push JD Vance to victory in 2022, Bernie Moreno in 2024, and is now expected to carry Ramaswamy in 2026. DeWine’s opposition to those candidates hasn’t aged well—and Ramaswamy’s camp is making sure the central committee remembers that.
As the committee prepares for its vote, the stakes are crystal clear. A supermajority endorsement would deliver not just party funds and organization—but a powerful message: the Ohio Republican Party is choosing its future now, not waiting for a whisper from the sidelines.