Vivek Ramaswamy gets Trump's backing in Ohio governor race

US President Donald Trump has formally endorsed Vivek Ramaswamy in the race for governor of Ohio, describing the Republican candidate as young, strong and smart. The announcement came in a post on X, where Trump said he knew Ramaswamy well, having competed against him, and called him "something SPECIAL" and "a very good person" who truly loves the country.

Trump leaned on his own record in the state, noting that he won Ohio in the 2016, 2020 and 2024 presidential elections. He wrote that Ohio is a state he loves and one he carried "big" three times, a signal of how much weight he places on his standing with the state's Republican voters.

The post also went on the attack against Ramaswamy's Democratic rival, Amy Acton. Trump labelled her a "Radical Left Dumocrat" and criticised her positions on taxes, immigration and transgender issues. Those are the contrasts Republicans are expected to push as the general election campaign takes shape.

For readers who track markets and the economy, the more interesting part is the policy list Trump attached to the endorsement. He said Ramaswamy would work to grow the economy, cut taxes and regulations, promote American manufacturing and expand US energy production. Ohio is a manufacturing-heavy state, so a pitch built on factories, energy and lighter regulation is aimed squarely at its industrial base.

Trump added that a Ramaswamy administration would focus on border security and migrant crime, a stronger military and support for veterans, law and order, election integrity and gun rights. Together with the economic planks, it reads as a full conservative platform rather than a narrow business pitch.

Ramaswamy, a businessman of Indian descent, is already well known to American and Indian audiences alike, which makes the Ohio race one to watch beyond the state's borders. Trump closed his post with a call to action, writing: "Vivek Ramaswamy has my Complete and Total Endorsement to be the next Governor of the Great State of Ohio" and urging supporters to "GET OUT AND VOTE FOR VIVEK." In a Republican-leaning state, that kind of backing can help shape the contest from here.

Source: Economic Times

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