Biotech entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy easily waltzed to victory over business owner Casey Putsch in the GOP primary for Ohio governor, teeing up a November showdown against Democrat Dr. Amy Acton, where polls show a close race.
Buoyed by his 2024 presidential bid, Ramaswamy had entered the gubernatorial race in his home state as the frontrunner and quickly enjoyed President Trump’s and Vice President JD Vance’s backing.
Vance trekked to the Buckeye State on Tuesday to vote for Ramaswamy and give him a last-minute boost before polls closed.
The populist, anti-woke crusader ran on a traditional GOP platform of cutting regulations, slashing taxes and cracking down on crime.
He also put a strong emphasis on education reform, vowing to raise standards and improve public schools across the state.
Putsch, meanwhile, is an internet provocateur, car designer, and engineer who has dissed Ramaswamy over his Hindu faith.
Down ballot, Sen. Jon Husted (R-Ohio), who ran unopposed in the special election Senate race, is now set to square off against former Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio), who marks one of the Democrats’ best hopes of flipping a seat in the upper chamber.
Brown, the frontrunner on the Democratic side, faced a primary challenge from first-time hopeful Ron Kincaid.
Now, both contests will switch gears to the general election, which is expected to be a money pit.
In the gubernatorial race, polls have shown Acton putting up a remarkable fight against Ramaswamy, some six months out from the election. Ramaswamy is averaging a 1 percentage point edge over her in the latest RealClearPolitics polling aggregate.
Democrats have been trying to weaken Ramaswamy’s standing among Republican voters by drawing attention to his company’s activities during the pandemic.
Acton previously served as Ohio’s health director. She rose to fame during the pandemic and worked with retiring Gov. Mike DeWine (R) in developing the state’s response to the COVID-19 respiratory illness.
On the Senate side, polls show a tough race between Husted and Brown, though the GOP incumbent has a 2.6 percentage point lead, per the latest RealClearPolitics aggregate.
Brown lost his Senate reelection bid to Sen. Bernie Moreno (R-Ohio) in 2024. He was the last Democrat to hold a statewide elected office in the Buckeye State.
But Democrats are hoping that his history of winning in Ohio before it transformed into a red state, coupled with the expected blue wave this year, could create a perfect storm for Brown to roar back to the upper chamber.
Ohio is one of four main states Democrats are eyeing to flip the Senate, along with Maine, North Carolina, and Alaska.
They’re also tentatively eyeing Texas, Iowa, Florida and Mississippi, which are seen as more of a long shot. Republicans currently have a 53-47 majority in the Senate.
