Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine Resists MAGA Vivek Ramaswamy’s Rise

Photo: @BehizyTweets

India-West News Desk

COLUMBUS, OH — Vivek Ramaswamy has quickly emerged as a leading contender for Ohio’s 2026 Republican gubernatorial nomination, but his ascent is meeting quiet resistance from termed out and the popular outgoing Gov. Mike DeWine, who is signaling unease with the prospect of a MAGA-aligned successor.

Ramaswamy, the biotech entrepreneur and former presidential candidate, entered the governor’s race in April with endorsements from key figures in Donald Trump’s political orbit, including Lara Trump and Donald Trump Jr. He was endorsed by the Ohio Republican Party’s state central committee just weeks later, in what Politico described as a show of the former president’s enduring influence on the party’s direction in the state.

But behind the scenes, DeWine has been working to influence the race’s outcome. According to Politico, DeWine and his allies had hoped to position Lt. Gov. Jon Husted for a future run by appointing him to the U.S. Senate seat vacated by Vice President-elect J.D. Vance. That move was seen by some as an attempt to open the governor’s seat to a more traditional conservative figure, avoiding a direct confrontation with the Trump wing of the GOP.

But with strong name recognition from his 2024 presidential run and robust grassroots support, Ramaswamy has quickly cleared much of the Republican field. Attorney General Dave Yost and Secretary of State Frank LaRose have both shifted away from the governor’s race, and no major Republican challenger has emerged to date.

While DeWine has not publicly criticized Ramaswamy, sources familiar with the governor’s thinking say he has expressed concern about the party veering too far toward populist extremes after he leaves office.

Ramaswamy, for his part, has leaned into the contrast, casting himself as the outsider candidate ready to disrupt the status quo in Columbus.

DeWine, who is term-limited, has not endorsed a candidate in the race and is expected to maintain that neutrality publicly. However, the contrast between his pragmatic conservatism and Ramaswamy’s hard-edged populism is already shaping the early contours of the 2026 contest.