Ohio Republican gubernatorial candidate Vivek Ramaswamy walks on stage ahead of Vice President JD Vance’s speech at the Cleveland Cliffs Middletown Works, Friday, Aug. 21, 2026, in Middletown, Ohio.
| Photo Credit: AP
U.S. Vice President J.D. Vance has extended his support to fellow Republican and “great friend” Vivek Ramaswamy in the Ohio gubernatorial election, asserting that the Indian American entrepreneur-turned-politician will “make a great Governor.”
Mr. Vance’s support for 41-year-old Ramaswamy came weeks after the latter was booed and heckled off stage as his off-putting remarks infuriated what should have been a friendly crowd at the Young Americans for Liberty conference in Cincinnati.
“We’ve also got, I believe, a great gubernatorial candidate, but also a great next governor of Ohio, my friend Vivek Ramaswamy,” Mr. Vance said at a rally in Ohio on Friday (August 21, 2026).
A gubernatorial election is an election to choose a state Governor.
“I don’t think that anybody needed to encourage Vivek to go to the polling location that day. When your name is on the ballot, nobody needs to make you go vote. But Vivek’s going to make a great governor for the state of Ohio,” Mr. Vance said.
Backed by U.S. President Donald Trump, Ramaswamy won the Republican primary in May to become the party’s candidate for the November election for the post of state Governor.
A former co-chair of Trump’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), Ramaswamy had also launched the presidential campaign in 2024 but opted out and backed Trump.
The son of immigrants from Kerala, Mr. Ramaswamy was born in Cincinnati, Ohio.
He studied at Harvard University and Yale Law School before entering the biotechnology and financial sectors.
Mr. Ramaswamy is the founder of the biotech firm Roivant Sciences, and he served as its CEO from 2014 to 2021.
Published – August 22, 2026 11:57 am IST
