Entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy joins the Ohio governor's race

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — Vivek Ramaswamy, the Cincinnati-born biotech entrepreneur who departed the Department of Government Efficiency initiative on President Donald Trump's first day, launched his bid for Ohio governor Monday with promises to institute work requirements for Medicaid and merit pay for all public school teachers and administrators. Ramaswamy, 39, kicked off his campaign in Cincinnati, joining the 2026 Republican primary just a month after presumed front-runner and then-Lt. Gov. Jon Husted left the running to take a U.S. Senate appointment. Ramaswamy sought the GOP nomination for president in 2024 before dropping out to back Trump, who later tapped him to co-chair the efficiency initiative with billionaire Elon Musk. A near-billionaire himself, Ramaswamy has promoted his ties to Trump as he lines up key endorsements and donors in the governor's race. The president posted his endorsement of Ramaswamy Monday night on social media. "I spent most of last year working tirelessly to help send Donald Trump back to the White House because it was a fork in the road," Ramaswamy said to loud cheers from the crowd. "It was a fork in the road for the future of the country." On his Truth Social site, Trump lauded Ramaswamy as "something SPECIAL." "He's Young, Strong, and Smart!" Trump wrote. "Vivek is also a very good person, who truly loves our Country. He will be a GREAT Governor of Ohio, will never let you down, and has my COMPLETE AND TOTAL ENDORSEMENT!" Ramaswamy joins a competitive GOP primary field to succeed Republican Gov. Mike DeWine, 78, a veteran center-right politician who is term-limited. Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost announced a bid for the seat in January and Heather Hill, a Black entrepreneur from Appalachia, also is running. Dr. Amy Acton, the former state health director who helped lead Ohio through the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, is running as a Democrat. They will compete in a former bellwether state that has tacked reliably red in recent years, having voted for Trump three times by more than 8 percentage points. Republicans also hold every statewide executive office, a majority on the Ohio Supreme Court and supermajorities in both legislative chambers. Ramaswamy told the crowd at his campaign launch that he would "end the war on work" by reattaching work requirements to Medicaid and welfare. He vowed to eliminate income and property taxes, and he promised Ohio would be the first state in the nation to implement merit-based pay for every teacher, principal, superintendent and administrator. He spoke of Ohio's more prosperous days, when he said the state was home to the glass, rubber and steel capitals of the world. This could be the case again, he said, though in other industries like semiconductor production, nuclear energy, biotechnology and bitcoin. "I believe deep in my bones that Ohio can lead the way again," he said. "If Silicon Valley was at the leading edge of the American economy for the last 10 years, it will be the Ohio River Valley for the next 10 years." Yost issued a statement welcoming Ramaswamy to the race "for however long he sticks around." Ramaswamy, who is Hindu, outlined the 10 core beliefs featured in his presidential campaign — led by "God is real" followed by "there are two genders" — in the 2024 book "Truths: The Future of America First." He first rose to political prominence with his 2021 book, "Woke Inc: Inside Corporate America's Social Justice Scam," a scorching critique of corporations that he said use social justice causes as a smokescreen for self-interested policies. He seeks to buck the traditional route to Ohio's governorship, which runs through extensive government service often stretching decades, and instead mount a Trump-style ascent into the job directly from the business world. The formula has worked for Vice President JD Vance and U.S. Sen. Bernie Moreno, two political newcomers who won Senate seats with the help of Trump's endorsement in 2022 and 2024, respectively. But Ramaswamy will test it in a state government-level race for the first time in recent memory. DeWine passed Ramaswamy over to appoint Husted to the Senate seat vacated by Vance, citing Husted's decades of elective experience. The gubernatorial bid by Husted, a former Ohio House speaker and secretary of state, had locked down many key endorsements and wealthy donors, who are now largely free agents. Yost joined the race as rumors circulated that Ramaswamy was planning a run. Since then, however, Ohio Treasurer Robert Sprague and Republican Secretary of State Frank LaRose have endorsed Ramaswamy. ___ Associated Press writer Audrey McAvoy in Honolulu contributed to this report.