It's week two of the Jim Tressel era at the Ohio Statehouse, and we have not heard much from the new lieutenant governor. No doubt, he's getting a crash course on the inner workings of state government. He has not set up a campaign website yet, so there's no "tresselforohio.org" out there, but there is still time.
The 2026 race for governor is gaining another major candidate, officially at least. Former Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy has filed preliminary paperwork to run for governor, and he plans to publicly launch his campaign this coming week with a tour around the state. This is no surprise. The Cincinnati native who now lives outside Columbus has been toying with the idea since he dropped out of the presidential race. He's thought to be a favorite of President Trump, but the president's favorite things are prone to change.
His primary competitor is Attorney General Dave Yost, who announced his candidacy last month. It's another battle of an insider vs. an outsider. We saw it in the last two campaigns for U.S. Senate, with JD Vance and Bernie Moreno prevailing, largely thanks to Trump endorsements.
Yost has the statewide-elected resume, with eight years as auditor and six years as attorney general. Vivek has the resume of a successful entrepreneur. Both have a little baggage. Yost will be dogged by his one-time strong support of ECOT, the electronic classroom of tomorrow, which closed abruptly and was found to owe the state tens of millions of dollars in misspent funds. Ramaswamy recently criticized the country's education system for promoting prom queens and jocks over scientists and engineers, which did not go over well and helped push him out of President Trump's so-called government efficiency project.
Regardless, it will be fun to watch. Two strong candidates with very different backgrounds running for an open seat, and we still don't know if Jim Tressel would run or whether Sherrod Brown will run for anything or if his fellow Democrat Amy Acton can make the transition to politics.
We're only two months into 2025 and the 2026 campaign is here.
Snollygoster of the week
We are still a long way from Election Day 2026, but candidates are already collecting endorsements.
Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose endorsed Vivek Ramaswamy for governor, and technically, Ramaswamy had not even announced his campaign yet. LaRose says Ramaswamy is the type of bold leader Ohio needs to move the state forward.
It's a shrewd move, an early endorsement in what could be a competitive race. We have to think Ramaswamy will be endorsing LaRose's bid for State Auditor in return.
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