DOGE brother Ramaswamy likely to announce Ohio governor’s run by month’s end: sources

Former Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy is expected to announce a run for governor in his home state of Ohio in the last week of January, a source close to the multimillionaire biotech entrepreneur told Fox News Digital.

The development in his schedule comes two days after multiple sources confirmed to Fox News that Ramaswamy, who along with Elon Musk co-leads President-elect Trump’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) initiative, was likely to launch a gubernatorial campaign “shortly time.”

“Vivek’s basic plan remains (the) same: to get results at DOGE and then announce a run for governor before long,” an Ohio staffer familiar with Ramaswamy’s thinking told Fox News on Friday.

Vivek Ramaswamy speaks before former President Trump takes the stage at the campaign rally at Madison Square Garden on October 27, 2024 in New York City. (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)

Ohio Republican Governor Mike DeWine is term-limited and cannot seek re-election in 2026.

DeWine announced Friday that Lt. Gen. Jon Husted would fill the U.S. Senate seat that was held by former Sen. JD Vance until earlier this month, when the vice president-elect stepped down ahead of Monday’s inauguration.

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Before the Senate’s announcement, Husted had planned to run for governor in 2026 to succeed DeWine. Ramaswamy, for his part, had expressed interest in serving in the Senate.

DeWine’s decision to pick Husted to fill the vacant Senate seat appeared to hasten Ramaswamy’s move toward launching a run for governor.

Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine announces his appointment of Lt. Gov. Jon Husted, right, to fill the U.S. Senate seat previously held by Vice President JD Vance at a news conference Friday, Jan. 17, 2025, in Columbus, Ohio. (AP Photo/Julie Carr Smyth)

Ramaswamy, 39, who launched his presidential campaign in February 2023, saw his stock rise as he went from a long shot to a contender for the Republican nomination.

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Ramaswamy campaigned on what he called an “America First 2.0” agenda and was one of Trump’s biggest supporters within rivals, calling Trump the “most successful president of our century.”

Vivek Ramaswamy supports former President Trump during a campaign event in Atkinson, New Hampshire, on January 16, 2024. (Timothy A. Clary/AFP via Getty Images)

He dropped his White House bid a year ago after a distant fourth in the Iowa caucuses and quickly endorsed Trump, becoming a top surrogate on the campaign trail.

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Ramaswamy, along with Musk, the world’s richest person, was named to lead DOGE in a November announcement by Trump.

Ohio, once one of the biggest battlegrounds in general elections, has shifted red over the past decade as Republicans have dominated elections across the country.