Vice President J.D. Vance's political team, including two top advisers, is joining Vivek Ramaswamy in the 2026 Ohio gubernatorial run announced in 2026, a source with knowledge confirmed to Fox News. I am.
The news follows a conversation between Ramaswamy and Vance. He assumed the vice president was an Ohio senator until he resigned earlier this month, added the operative, who asked to remain anonymous to speak more freely.
Ramaswamy, a multimillionaire biotech entrepreneur and former Republican presidential candidate, has been putting together his pieces for weeks and has launched a gubernatorial campaign in the race to succeed Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine. .
“We expect Vivek to announce his candidacy in mid-February,” a source told Fox News.
Ramaswamy performed at Doge as he returns to the campaign trail
Vivek Ramaswamy and Kristi Noem applaud during President Donald Trump's inauguration ceremony at the U.S. Capitol on January 20, 2025. (Kevin Lamarque/Reuters/Pool)
Ramaswamy was one of the candidates who challenged President Donald Trump for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination before dropping out of the race and becoming a top Trump ally and surrogate.
The two Vance advisors are Andisravian and Jaichabria. He played a big role in Vance's 2022 Senate race last summer and fall after Trump named the first-term senator his running mate.
Mask and Ramaswamy in Magha war over skilled workers
Chhabria, who is based in Ohio, is a veteran of Buckeye State politics and is expected to serve as a general consultant to the Ramaswamy campaign.
Surabyan, who is also a top advisor to Donald Trump Jr., the president's eldest son and a top figure in the MAGA movement, steers an outside political group allied with Ramaswamy.
Tony Fabrizio, a veteran Republican pollster who worked on Trump's 2016 and 2024 campaigns, is another close ally of Vance and Donald Trump Jr., according to Vance's 2022 Senate campaign. As well as a certain Arthur Schwartz, sources said.
Vice President J.D. Vance speaks before being sworn in as Secretary of Defense at Pete Hegseth, Saturday, January 25, 2025, in the Eisenhower Executive Office Building on the White House campus. (AP Photo/Rod Lamkey, Jr.)
Vance, who has known Ramaswamy since he studied at Yale Law School, has put his stamp on Ohio politics since winning the 2022 Senate race in a former key battleground state that has shifted to the right over the past decade. I did.
Vance is now approved. Ahead of a major victory for GOP Senate president in 2024, key members of Bernie Moreno and Vance's political team steered Moreno's campaign.
“Given that JD and Vivek have had a long-standing friendship, it shouldn't be a surprise that a top JD operative is working with Vivek,” a source in Vance's political orbit told Fox News. Ta.
The longtime Ohio-based Republican operative asked for anonymity to speak more freely, and Vance said the move “sends a message.”
He added that the advisors participating in Ramaswamy's efforts are an “all-star campaign team.”
Click here for the latest Fox News report on Vivek Ramaswamy
Also part of that team are three veterans of Ramaswamy's White House campaign: Ben Yoho, Mike Biundo and Chris Grant.
Ramaswamy, now 39, began his presidential campaign in February 2023 and quickly increased his stock as he went from a long shot to a candidate for the Republican nomination.
He campaigned on what he called an “America First 2.0” agenda, called Trump “the most successful president of our century,” and was one of Trump's biggest supporters in the rival field.
Ramaswamy withdrew his White House bid a year ago after a distant fourth-place finish in the Iowa caucuses and quickly endorsed Trump, becoming a top surrogate on the campaign trail.
Days after winning the November presidential election, Trump, along with Elon Musk, the world's richest man, steered the Office of Government Efficiency initiative, better known by its acronym Doge, with Ramaswamy.
Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy arrive on Capitol Hill to discuss their efforts to lead Doge in December. (Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)
However, last Monday, with Trump taking office, the new administration announced that Ramaswamy was no longer serving at Doge. Ramaswamy's exit appears to clear the way for Musk, Trump's top donor and key ally, to steer Doge away from the spotlight.
“It has been my honor to assist in the creation of Doge. I am confident that Elon & Team will be successful in streamlining government. I will share more about my future plans in Ohio soon.” To help President Trump Make America Great Again!” Ramaswamy wrote.
Dewine announced a week and a half ago that Lt. Col. Jon Husted will fill the U.S. Senate seat held by Vance until he resigned ahead of the Trump/Vance inauguration.
Prior to the Senate announcement, Husted was planning to run for governor in 2026. Ramaswamy, for his part, had expressed interest in serving in the Senate.
Governor Mike DeWine announced the appointment of Lt. Col. Jon Husted to fill the U.S. Senate seat previously held by Vice President-elect J.D. Vance on January 17, 2025 in Columbus, Ohio. (AP Photo/Julie Kerr Smith)
DeWine's decision to select Husted to fill the vacant Senate seat appeared to accelerate Ramaswamy's move to launch a run for governor.
Florida Sen. Rick Scott, a Trump ally in the Senate, on Monday endorsed Ramwamy's all-certain gubernatorial bid.
“I have the privilege of working closely with Vivek G. Ramaswamy. He is completely focused on trying to save our country,” Scott said in a social media post.
The race for the GOP gubernatorial nomination could be competitive. Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost, 68, announced his candidacy for governor late last week.
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Ramaswamy's move to run for governor has sparked a fire among Trump's hardcore MAGA supporters over his and Musk's support for H-1B temporary worker visas for highly skilled workers from abroad. It happens even after a few weeks.
Ramaswamy's comments received a lot of pushback from major voices on the right and some in Trump's political circles, who said the comments were critical of American culture, which he said “revered mediocrity over excellence.” .
Once a premier general election battleground, Ohio has turned red over the past decade as Republicans have dominated statewide elections.
