COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) — Vivek Ramaswamy, the latest Republican to enter the Ohio gubernatorial race, touched on his plans for education and the economy during a one-on-one interview with NBC4’s Colleen Marshall Wednesday.
Ramaswamy officially entered the governor’s race on Monday. Just a few hours after his official announcement, Ramaswamy picked up Trump’s endorsement in the race.
“He’s Young, Strong, and Smart!” Trump wrote on his Truth Social site. “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!”
“I think the endorsements critical in the Republican primary,” Ramaswamy said Wednesday. “For example, our primary voter base has elected Trump by margins that are unseen in the history of Republican primaries and I’m honored to have his endorsement.”
Born in Cincinnati in 1985 to Indian immigrants, the gubernatorial candidate’s father was an engineer for General Electric and his mother worked as a geriatric psychiatrist. Ramaswamy went on to graduate with honors from Harvard University, where he earned a biology degree. He then went on to Yale Law School, where he met and befriended fellow Ohioan and current Vice President JD Vance.
He said Ohio is ready for a new generation of leaders and believes he is best positioned to be in Ohio’s top spot.
“Bring down the property tax burden, bring down the income tax burden, eventually down to zero in this state,” Ramaswamy said. “End the war on work, and this affects the budget to work requirements for Medicaid and welfare in the state, cut every piece of regulation that’s getting in the way of economic growth.”
As an example of cutting regulations, Ramaswamy proposed cutting the amount of time it takes for a natural gas pipeline permit to be issued to six months; according to him, it currently takes between 18 and 36 months.
Watch: Colleen Marshall’s full interview with Ohio gubernatorial candidate Vivek Ramaswamy
“If so, we’d be seeing an economic boom in this state,” Ramaswamy said.
Ramaswamy co-founded Campus Venture Network in 2007, which was a social network for business-minded college students; he sold the company in 2009. From 2007 to 2014, Ramaswamy worked QVT Financial, a hedge fund where he managed the firm’s biotech portfolio.
After graduating from Yale in 2013, Ramaswamy founded Roivant Sciences, a company whose net worth is more than $7 billion. He stepped down as CEO in 2021. In 2022, he cofounded the Columbus-based “anti-woke” asset management firm Strive Asset Management.
Ramaswamy came to prominence in 2023 when he entered the 2024 Republican presidential primary; he bowed out in January 2024 after coming in fourth in the Iowa caucus and went on to endorse Trump. At one point, Ramaswamy was among a handful of names being considered as Trump’s running mate.
After Trump’s win in November, Ramaswamy, along with Elon Musk, was named to lead the Department of Government Efficiency. On Jan. 20, the day the Trump administration returned to the White House, Ramaswamy stepped away from DOGE, reportedly to focus on his run for Ohio governor.
Ramaswamy is joined in the Republican gubernatorial primary by Morgan County business owner Heather Hill and Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost. On the Democratic side, only former Ohio Health Director Amy Acton has announced her candidacy.
The general election to decide Ohio’s governor will be held on Nov. 3, 2026.
