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.

Vivek Ramaswamy, the billionaire entrepreneur backed by President Donald Trump has won the Republican Party primary to become its candidate for Ohio Governor, defeating an opponent who tormented him with racist propaganda.

Winning 87% of the votes, Mr. Ramaswamy dealt a decisive defeat to Casey Putsch, and in the November general election, will face Democrat Amy Acton, who ran unopposed for her party’s nomination.

Mr. Ramaswamy initially ran against Mr. Trump for the Republican presidential nomination in 2024, but withdrew and backed Mr. Trump.

Mr. Trump appointed him as the co-head with Elon Musk of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) to streamline government operations and cut expenses. He had a run of only about a month in that role, with personality clashes with Mr. Musk.

Mr. Ramaswamy then received Trump’s blessings to run for Ohio Governor.

If Mr. Ramaswamy is elected in November, he will be the third Indian American to hold the office after fellow Republicans Bobby Jindal in Louisiana and Nikki Haley in South Carolina.

Ohio has not had a Democrat Governor in 35 years, both its Senators are Republicans, and Mr. Trump carried it with a 12% lead in 2024, giving Mr. Ramaswamy an edge in November.

As a billionaire, he has vast financial resources of his own to throw into the race. However, he will face headwinds from the soaring prices due to the Iran War and Trump’s falling popularity in opinion polls.

Mr. Ramaswamy’s father, Vadakanchery Ganapathy Ramaswamy, was an engineer with General Electric, and his mother is a psychiatrist.

Mr. Ramaswamy’s rival in November, Ms. Acton, is a doctor and a moderate Democrat who was appointed by Republican Governor Mike DeWine as the State Health Director as COVID was emerging as a threat.

The 40-year-old Mr. Ramaswamy has a law degree from Yale University, but went on to build a career as an entrepreneur. After working for a hedge fund, he founded a biotechnology company, Roivant Sciences, and later an asset management company, Strive. According to Forbes, his wealth is now estimated at $2.5 billion.