COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) – Attorney General Dave Yost is running for Ohio governor in 2026. He was the first Republican to declare his candidacy.

Statehouse Reporter Natalie Fahmy sat down with Yost to talk about his run. You can watch the full interview in the video player above. Yost has been attorney general for six years. Before that, he served as state auditor for eight years and held various local elected offices.

As attorney general, Yost has fought in favor of Ohio’s six-week abortion ban, remains in favor of use of the death penalty, indicted several players in state charges for Ohio’s largest corruption scandal, and gained national attention for his comments about a 10-year-old rape victim.

Former presidential candidate and brief head of President Donald Trump’s Department of Government Efficiency Vivek Ramaswamy is expected to officially announce his run for Ohio Governor on Monday.

Newly sworn in Lt. Gov. Jim Tressel has not said whether he will run for governor in 2026, or any other office at all, though there is speculation that Gov. Mike DeWine appointed Tressel with the hope that he runs for governor.

Dr. Amy Acton has jumped in the race, running as a Democrat. She was appointed by DeWine as the state’s health director in 2019 but resigned in June 2020 due to personal attacks and lawsuits that followed her response to the COVID-19 pandemic.