Vivek Ramaswamy wins Ohio GOP primary, setting up tight governor race

Vivek Ramaswamy , a Republican former presidential candidate, won his primary race for Ohio governor on Tuesday, setting up a closely watched contest in November’s election. The biotech entrepreneur, who was endorsed by Donald Trump and briefly co-led Trump’s so-called “department of government efficiency” (Doge) with Elon Musk at the start of the president’s second term, beat Casey Putsch, the internet personality, to land the nomination. He was given a late lift by Trump on Tuesday, who called the 40-year-old Ramaswamy on social media “Young, Strong, and Smart!”. He will square off in the 3 November general election with Dr Amy Acton, who won the Democratic nomination unopposed. Putsch, a political novice who became famous for his series of “ car guy ” videos on YouTube, had targeted Ramaswamy’s south Asian heritage in campaign ads, but was trounced on Tuesday, winning less than 20% of the vote. Ramaswamy’s upcoming contest against Acton, who was Ohio’s health director during the Covid-19 pandemic, will be much more competitive, and expensive. No Democrat has won the state since Ted Strickland was elected governor in 2006, but the party remains hopeful of a flip . The Cook Political Report in March changed its prediction of the governor’s race to succeed the term-limited Mike DeWine from “likely Republican” to “ lean Republican ”. …