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Trump ally Ramaswamy to announce 2026 GOP campaign for Ohio governor in one week

Vivek Ramaswamy will launch his 2026 campaign for Ohio governor in one week, sources confirm to Fox News.

The multi-millionaire biotech entrepreneur, who went from long shot to contender for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination before dropping out 13 months ago and becoming a top supporter and surrogate of now-President Donald Trump, will announce his candidacy on Feb. 24 in his hometown of Cincinnati.

Ramaswamy will kick off his campaign – in the race to succeed term-limited GOP Gov. Mike DeWine – at CTL Aerospace just outside of Cincinnati. AP was first to report the news.

Sources with knowledge say CTL Aerospace, a privately held company that specializes in aviation repair and original equipment manufacturing, symbolizes Ramaswamy’s push for a new age of growth of industry in Ohio.

RAMASWAMY DONE AT DOGE AS HE HEADS BACK ON CAMPAIGN TRAIL

Vivek Ramaswamy, who is expected to launch a Republican campaign for Ohio governor in the 2026 race to succeed term-limited GOP Gov. Mike DeWine, is seen arriving at Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., on Dec. 5, 2024. (Al Drago/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

The candidate is expected to make stops over the following two days in the Columbus, Toledo and Cleveland areas.

Ramaswamy, who’s now 39 years old, launched his presidential campaign in February 2023 and quickly saw his stock rise.

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

Ramaswamy dropped his White House bid in January of last year after a distant fourth-place finish in the Iowa caucuses and quickly endorsed Trump, becoming a staple for the former and future president on the campaign trail during the general election.

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

Trump, in the days after his November presidential election victory, named Elon Musk, the world’s richest person, along with Ramaswamy, to steer the Department of Government Efficiency initiative, which is better known by its acronym DOGE.

But late last month, as Trump was inaugurated, the new administration announced that Ramaswamy was no longer serving at DOGE. Ramaswamy’s exit appeared to clear the way for Musk, Trump’s top donor and key ally, to steer DOGE without having to share the limelight.

“It was my honor to help support the creation of DOGE. I’m confident that Elon & team will succeed in streamlining government. I’ll have more to say very soon about my future plans in Ohio. Most importantly, we’re all-in to help President Trump make America great again!,” Ramaswamy wrote at the time.

Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy were named by President Donald Trump to lead the Department of Government Efficiency. (Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)

Ramaswamy and Musk sparked a firestorm among Trump’s hard core MAGA supporters over their support for H-1B temporary worker visas for highly skilled workers from foreign countries. Ramaswamy’s comments criticizing an American culture that he said “venerated mediocrity over excellence” received plenty of pushback from some leading voices on the right as well as some in Trump’s political circle.

DeWine announced last month that Lt. Gov. Jon Husted would fill the U.S. Senate seat that was held by JD Vance, Trump’s 2024 running mate, until he stepped down ahead of the inauguration.

Before the Senate 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.

Gov. Mike DeWine announces his appointment of Lt. Gov. Jon Husted to fill the U.S. Senate seat formerly held by JD Vance, on Jan. 17, 2025, in Columbus, Ohio. (AP Photo/Julie Carr Smyth)

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

Top members of Vance’s political team – including advisors Andy Surabian and Jai Chabria, who played major roles in Vance’s 2022 Senate race and in his vice presidential campaign last summer and autumn – are helping Ramaswamy as he runs for governor.

Tony Fabrizio, the veteran Republican pollster who worked on Trump’s 2016 and 2024 campaigns, as well as Vance’s 2022 Senate campaign, is also on board, as is Arthur Schwartz, a close ally to Vance and Donald Trump Jr.

The race for the GOP gubernatorial nomination could be competitive. Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost, 68, announced last month his candidacy for governor.

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“This is my heart, my home,” Yost said in a press release announcing his candidacy. “I work for the people of Ohio, and I love my bosses. From the time I get up in the morning until I go to bed at night, I’m thinking about them and our future.”

Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost speaks at the Columbiana County Lincoln Day Dinner in Salem, Ohio, on March 15, 2024. (Bill Clark/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)

Yost also brought in staff from Trump’s political world, announcing that former Trump campaign official Justin Clark had joined the campaign as a general consultant.

Lt. Gov. Jim Tressel, a well-known former Ohio State University head football coach who was sworn in last month to succeed Husted, appears to be mulling a gubernatorial run.

Former Ohio Department of Health Director Dr. Amy Acton is currently the only Democrat in the race.

Ohio, which was once a top general election battleground, has shifted red over the past decade as Republicans have dominated statewide elections.

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Ramaswamy was raised in Evendale, Ohio, in suburban Cincinnati by parents who emigrated from India. His father worked as an engineer at General Electric Aviation and his mother was a geriatric psychiatrist. Ramaswamy and his family currently live in suburban Columbus.

The soon-to-be candidate filed paperwork on Friday with the Ohio secretary of state’s office ahead of his campaign launch.

Paul Steinhauser is a politics reporter based in New Hampshire.

February 17, 2025
Trump tariffs spark ‘exciting time’ for Ohio steel plant as CEO eyes adding jobs, boosting productivity

FIRST ON FOX: President Donald Trump’s tariffs will be a boon for an Ohio-based steel mill and its employees, the CEO of JSW Steel USA, a subsidiary of a massive India-based steel manufacturer, told Fox News Digital in an exclusive interview.

“It’s a good piece of the formula that results in our company increasing utilization in the next 12 months, from 68% to probably 84%, and beyond that in years to come. So it’s a very exciting time for us,” JSW Steel USA CEO Robert Simon told Fox News Digital of Trump’s tariff plan in a phone interview on Thursday evening.

Simon has served as the CEO of JSW Steel USA since March of last year, bringing with him more than 30 years of experience in the steel industry. He spoke to Fox News Digital following Trump announcing his administration’s “fair and reciprocal plan on trade,” which he celebrated during a press conference as a project that will flood the U.S. with jobs as trading partners move their industries to U.S. soil to avoid tariffs.

JSW USA is a subsidiary of Mumbai-headquartered JSW Group, which owns India’s second-largest private steel company, JSW Steel. JSW USA has two steel locations in the U.S., one at Mingo Junction, Ohio, and another operation in Baytown, Texas.

TRUMP DETAILS HIS RECIPROCAL TARIFF PLANS, ASKS FOREIGN COUNTRIES TO ‘TREAT US FAIRLY’: ‘DELIVER RECIPROCITY’

JSW Steel USA CEO Robert Simon spoke with Fox Digital in an exclusive interview. (JSW Steel USA )

Simon told Fox News Digital that across his more than 30 years in the industry, U.S. steel manufacturers have complied with strict environmental and safety practices, and paid their employees fairly, while foreign steel manufacturers could skirt U.S. regulations while exporting their goods to the U.S.

“We, as steel producers, we paid our employees fair wages, treated them fairly, met some of the most – if not the most strict – environmental requirements in the world, and those practices in our markets, with the simple supply-demand equation establishes market pricing.”

The JSW Steel USA facility in Mingo Junction, Ohio. (JSW Steel USA )

“The frustration is, how is it fair that others that don’t treat their employees the same way, don’t follow the same rules, don’t follow environmental practices… they get government subsidies. How is it fair that they can come into our markets and take market share when it’s not an equal playing field?” he said.

Simon said the Ohio plant alone will likely see a minimum increase of 100 jobs in the next year under Trump’s tariff plan.

“As you look at that increase in utilization coupled with the overall increase in production that we foresee in the next three to five years, we estimate, at a minimum, a 100 jobs increase in the next 12 plus months associated with that utilization rate increase,” he said.

WHO GETS HIT HARDEST BY STEEL AND ALUMINUM TARIFFS?

Trump’s administration issued a fact sheet last week restoring a 25% tariff on steel, which detailed “domestic steel and aluminum industries and achieving sustainable capacity utilization of at least 80%.” JSW Steel USA told Fox News Digital that they are already on track to increase their utilization rate from 68% to 84% – higher than Trump’s target number of 80%.

Under the first Trump administration, JSW Steel USA notably sued the federal government in 2019 over tariffs regarding imported steel-slab materials. The company now makes all domestic steel-slab materials as part of the JSW Group’s belief that its facilities both make products and supply the product in the communities they serve.

President Donald Trump speaks at a rally at Circa Resort & Casino on Jan. 25, 2025, in Las Vegas. (Ian Maule/Getty Images)

Simon celebrated in his comments to Fox Digital that Ohio families that had long worked in the steel industry are making a return to the factory as the industry reinvigorates under the first and second Trump administrations. JSW USA purchased the Ohio factory in 2018, after it had operated as a Wheeling-Pittsburgh Steel plant, but sat dormant for years.

TRUMP ADVISOR TEASES NEW ‘GOLDEN AGE’ OF U.S. STEEL AND ALUMINUM

“This is a company that had been shut down for over seven years, when we acquired it. We hired a workforce, trained a workforce, all from the local area. What’s really cool to see is we’ve got employees whose grandparents and great-grandparents worked in this same company, which ended up being shut down, and they’re part now of reviving that company and bringing it to an offering of products that’s extremely competitive and extremely impressive in terms of its value added products,” Simon said.

Trump announced a reciprocal tariff plan on Thursday, tapping Howard Lutnick, his nominee for commerce secretary, to produce a report on reciprocal trade relations within 180 days. Lutnik said Thursday that he will have the report ready for Trump by April 1.

Howard Lutnick, commerce secretary nominee, joins President Donald Trump in the Oval Office of the White House on Monday, Feb. 10, 2025. (Al Drago/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

WHAT ARE TARIFFS, HOW DO THEY WORK AND WHO PAYS FOR THEM?

”On trade, I have decided for purposes of fairness, that I will charge a reciprocal tariff – meaning whatever countries charge the United States of America, we will charge them no more, no less. In other words, they charge us a tax or tariff and we charge them the exact same tax or tariff. Very simple,” he said at the White House on Thursday.

Trump touted that the plan will lead to a job boon in the U.S. as foreign trading partners move operations stateside to avoid the reciprocal tariffs.

“They can build a factory here, a plant or whatever it may be, here,” Trump said Thursday afternoon from the Oval Office. “And that includes the medical, that includes cars, that includes chips and semiconductors. That includes everything. If you build here, you have no tariffs whatsoever. And I think that’s what’s going to happen. I think our country is going to be flooded with jobs.”

Simon told Fox News Digital that Trump’s business and deal-making abilities are “obvious to everybody” as he whips through dozens of executive actions and orders in just a few weeks back in the Oval Office, remarking that it’s “pretty amazing.”

“It’s become obvious to everybody that Mr. Trump is not a politician, right, but, more of a business person stepping in and leading our country, from much more of a business perspective than as a career politician. Like it or not, for those folks that have different opinions, this results in very quick negotiations. I don’t think I’ve ever in my time here seen so much movement, so much decision-making, so many decisions being made in this shorter period of time since he’s been in office. It’s pretty, pretty amazing,” he said.

JSW USA purchased the Ohio factory in 2018, after it had sat dormant for years. (JSW Steel USA )

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Trump also met with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday, and the two discussed trade, the economic relationship between India and the United States and military sales. The pair also “committed to drive opportunities for U.S. and Indian companies to make greenfield investments in high-value industries in each other’s countries,” including naming JSW’s operations at Texas and Ohio as a prime ongoing investment in the U.S., according to a joint statement from the two nations.

President Donald Trump and India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi shake hands during a news conference at the White House, Thursday, Feb. 13, 2025. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

“The steel tariffs enacted by President Trump are a necessary step in leveling the playing field for American steelworkers and manufacturers. Foreign competitors fail to protect their workforce at the same safety standards, do not compensate them fairly, and produce steel that contributes to environmental degradation, all the while, seeking to flood the U.S. market, taking advantage of our strong economy, driving a collapse of our markets in the process,” Simon added in comment provided to Fox Digital.

February 16, 2025
Vivek Ramaswamy campaign files mandatory paperwork ahead of Ohio gov. bid

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Vivek Ramaswamy’s campaign filed paperwork to begin his widely-expected run for governor of Ohio, Fox News Digital can confirm.

The venture capitalist’s campaign filed its Designation of Treasurer form with Ohio’s Secretary of State on Friday. The form is a requirement before a candidate’s campaign committee makes any expenditures or receives contributions.

The filing represents an official registration for Ramaswamy’s gubernatorial committee. While the filing was made under the name “Vivek Ramaswamy For Ohio” and online records did not note an explicit reference to the gubernatorial bid, Ramaswamy has been heavily hinting about the Ohio governor’s race, which will take place in 2026. Current Gov. Mike DeWine is ineligible to run, having taken office in 2019.

The filing comes nearly a month after it was revealed that Ramaswamy left President Donald Trump’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) initiative. In a statement to Fox News, Trump-Vance transition spokesperson Anna Kelly said that Ramaswamy “played a critical role in helping us create DOGE.”

MUSK AND RAMASWAMY IGNITE MAGA WAR OVER SKILLED WORKER IMIMGRATION

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

“He intends to run for elected office soon, which requires him to remain outside of DOGE, based on the structure that we announced today,” Kelly explained. “We thank him immensely for his contributions over the last 2 months and expect him to play a vital role in making America great again.”

Ramaswamy’s exit from DOGE came after he and Tesla CEO Elon Musk polarized Trump supporters over their support for H-1B temporary worker visas. At the time, Ramaswamy addressed his departure by saying it was an “honor” to help create DOGE.

“I’m confident that Elon & team will succeed in streamlining government,” he said. “I’ll have more to say very soon about my future plans in Ohio. Most importantly, we’re all-in to help President Trump make America great again!”

TOP JD VANCE POLITICAL ADVISORS TO STEER RAMASWAMY RUN FOR OHIO GOVERNOR

Then-Republican presidential candidate and businessman Vivek Ramaswamy speaks at the Republican Party’s First in the Nation Leadership Summit in Nashua, New Hampshire, U.S., October 13, 2023. (REUTERS/Brian Snyder)

Republican leaders have endorsed Ramaswamy in recent weeks, including GOP Sens. Mike Lee of Utah and Marsha Blackburn of Tennessee. In a post, Blackburn said that Ramaswamy has “a servant’s heart and a brilliant entrepreneurial mind.”

“The people of Ohio would be well served by his leadership, and if he chooses to run, he’ll have my full support,” the Tennessee Republican wrote.

Lee said that he was sure Ramaswamy would win a gubernatorial race in the Buckeye State and that he would “transform Ohio for the better.”

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Vivek Ramaswamy gestures from the stage on Day 2 of the Republican National Convention (RNC), at the Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, U.S., July 16, 2024. (REUTERS/Brian Snyder)

“The results will benefit Ohioans—and Americans—for generations I’m honored to have worked with @VivekGRamaswamy, and I support him wholeheartedly,” Lee’s X post read.

Fox News Digital’s Paul Steinhauser, Alex Nitzberg and Sophia Compton contributed to this report.

February 15, 2025
‘Born leader’: Ohio governor nominates former legendary college football coach as lieutenant governor

Ohio Republican Gov. Mike DeWine announced on Monday that he is nominating former Ohio State football coach Jim Tressel to serve as the state’s lieutenant governor.

“Jim Tressel is Ohio values,” DeWine said at a news conference announcing the nomination of Tressel to replace former Lt. Gov. Jon Husted, who DeWine appointed to the U.S. Senate last month.

“He’s a hard worker and shares that vision (I have) for the future of Ohio. He has the ability to pull people together. He has the ability to lead. He will enable me to be assured that if something happens to me, he can walk in and be governor that day and that would be seamless.”

Tressel, who DeWine called a “born leader,” was head coach of Ohio State University’s football team from 2001 to 2010. The Buckeyes won the 2002 national championship during Tressel’s tenure along with six Big Ten championships and a record of 9-1 against rival Michigan.

NEXT OHIO SENATOR, A ‘FISCAL CONSERVATIVE,’ AIMS TO ‘GET GOVERNMENT OUT OF PEOPLE’S LIVES’

Ohio State football coach Jim Tressel, Left, and Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine. right (Getty/AP)

Tressel, 72, retired a year and a half ago as president of Youngstown State University, a job he had held since 2014. Since then, he has been engaged in workforce and economic development activities.

“With his wealth of experience in the education field, Jim understands its importance in building Ohio’s workforce of tomorrow,” Ohio Chamber President & CEO Steve Stivers said in a statement, saying Tressel would prioritize workforce development “for the benefit of the business community and all Ohioans.”

SENATORS BACK VIVEK RAMASWAMY FOR OHIO GOVERNOR AHEAD OF EXPECTED GUBERNATORIAL BID

Former Ohio State coach Jim Tressel is carried on the shoulders of his 2002 national championship team during the second quarter of an NCAA college football game between Notre Dame and Ohio State, Saturday, Sept. 3, 2022, in Columbus, Ohio. (AP Photo/David Dermer)

Tressel’s nomination must now be approved by the Ohio Senate and Ohio House, which are both led by Republican supermajorities.

“I want to study a little bit about what Jon Husted has going on, and so I want to learn the business, if you will,” Tressel, a political newcomer, said at the press conference. “And then it’s up to when you sit down with the team and the staff and everyone else trying to figure out who plays what position best. And I’d be more than happy to to help wherever I can.”

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Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine is seen onstage at the Fiserv Forum during preparations for the Republican National Convention (RNC) on July 14, 2024, in Milwaukee, Wisc. (Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)

Former Ohio Gov. John Kasich congratulated Tressel in an X post saying, “Jim Tressel always puts one foot in front of the other trying to improve our world. Good luck, @JimTressel5.”

DeWine, who must retire in 2026 due to term limits, said the two have not discussed if Tressel plans to run for governor, which would put him in a race against the state’s Republican attorney general, Dave Yost, and former Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy, who is expected to jump into the race this month.

Former Ohio Health Director Dr. Amy Acton is running as a Democrat.

Associated Press contributed to this report

Andrew Mark Miller is a reporter at Fox News. Find him on Twitter @andymarkmiller and email tips to [email protected].

February 10, 2025
JD Vance’s half-brother, Cory Bowman, runs for Cincinnati, Ohio mayor

Vice President JD Vance’s half-brother, Cory Bowman, announced that he is running for mayor of Cincinnati.

Bowman, a pastor, coffee shop owner and registered Republican, revealed his candidacy in an interview published Tuesday by The Cincinnati Enquirer.

The last Republican to run for mayor of Cincinnati was Brad Wenstrup in 2009. Wenstrup later successfully ran for a U.S. House seat.

Cincinnati has been run by an all-Democrat, nine-member council since Republican Liz Keating was voted out in 2023.

VP VANCE DOUBLES DOWN ON WH’S ‘AMBITIOUS’ GOAL TO GET CRIMINAL MIGRANTS OFF THE STREETS: ‘POLICY MATTERS’

Cory Bowman, the half-brother of Vice President JD Vance, is photographed outside his coffee shop on Feb. 4, 2025 in Cincinnati. (Frank Bowen IV/The Enquirer / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images)

Eight people have filed petitions to run for mayor of Cincinnati, the newspaper reported. The deadline to submit the required 500 signatures to be on the ballot is Feb. 20.

None of the petitioners have met that requirement yet, including the current, first-term Mayor Aftab Pureval, a Democrat. Pureval told the newspaper he is running for re-election and has started hosting fundraisers.

As the Trump administration continues its crackdown on criminal illegal immigrants, Pureval notably said Cincinnati would not cooperate with Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents, WXIX reported.

The mayoral contest is a non-partisan field race. The two top voter recipients advance to a general election. There is no primary if fewer than three candidates qualify to run.

Bowman said he spoke to Vance in the “initial stages” of considering running for mayor, describing Vance as his inspiration and adding that the two have a friendly sibling rivalry.

“I don’t necessarily speak for my brother because he speaks pretty well for himself. And he’s doing well,” Bowman told The Enquirer. “I will say that he’s an incredible role model of mine.”

Bowman grew up in Butler and Preble counties, and he and his wife moved back to Cincinnati in 2020, when they founded The River Church in the West End neighborhood.

Vice President JD Vance speaks during a visit to East Palestine, Ohio, on Feb. 3, 2025. Residents were forced to evacuate in February 2023 when a Norfolk Southern train carrying chemicals derailed, covering the area in black smoke. (REBECCA DROKE/POOL/AFP via Getty Images)

JD VANCE CONDEMNS FEMA’S RESPONSE TO HELENE DEVASTATION IN 1ST TRIP AS VICE PRESIDENT

Having been pastor of a nondenominational Christian church for four years, Bowman told the Enquirer he considered running for local office as a way of giving back, an interest that was further ignited by attending President Donald Trump and Vance’s inauguration in Washington, D.C., last month.

“There’s nobody that cheered louder when he was getting sworn in than me, because he’s my brother,” Bowman said of Vance.

Vance and Bowman share the same father, Donald Bowman, who died in 2023. He was the second husband of Vance’s mother, Beverly Aikins.

Donald Bowman put Vance up for adoption when the now vice president was in kindergarten. In his memoir, “Hillbilly Elegy,” Vance describes reconnecting with his father and his half siblings, including Cory, as a teenager.

Vance also describes living with his father at their family farm house in Preble County, contrasting that experience to growing up with his mother, who had battled addiction.

Vice President JD Vance, right, speaks with Vivek Ramaswamy as Vance and second lady Usha Vance arrive at Youngstown Air Reserve Station in Vienna Ohio, en route to East Palestine, Ohio, on Feb. 3, 2025. (REBECCA DROKE/POOL/AFP via Getty Images)

“It was a great childhood,” Cory Bowman told The Enquirer of his life on the farm. “We learned those foundations as kids. But there was always something about the city that enticed me.”

Vance’s mother changed his name from James Donald Bowman to James David Hamel when she remarried. He later took his grandfather’s last name, Vance.

Bowman also owns the Kings Arms Coffee in the West End of Cincinnati. “My heart fell in love with it,” he said of the neighborhood.

He resides in the College Hill neighborhood of Cincinnati.

Vance has not yet weighed in on his half-brother’s campaign announcement.

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Bowman attended the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee in July, when Vance was announced as Trump’s running mate. He said he observed many new Republicans, though he was not one of them.

“Half of those people [who were in attendance] wouldn’t have been caught dead in that room eight years ago,” Bowman said. “It wasn’t just established Republicans, it was more so people wanting a change.”

Danielle Wallace is a breaking news and politics reporter at Fox News Digital. Story tips can be sent to [email protected] and on X: @danimwallace.

February 5, 2025
Senators back Vivek Ramaswamy for Ohio governor ahead of expected gubernatorial bid

Entrepreneur and author Vivek Ramaswamy, who is expected to launch a gubernatorial bid in the Buckeye State, is racking up support from U.S. senators.

GOP Sens. Mike Lee of Utah and Marsha Blackburn of Tennessee both expressed their support for Ramaswamy in posts on Monday.

“If @VivekGRamaswamy runs for governor of Ohio (and I hope he does) he will not only win—he will transform Ohio for the better,” Lee declared in a tweet. “The results will benefit Ohioans—and Americans—for generations I’m honored to have worked with @VivekGRamaswamy, and I support him wholeheartedly.”

TOP JD VANCE POLITICAL ADVISORS TO STEER RAMASWAMY RUN FOR OHIO GOVERNOR

Vivek Ramaswamy arrives to meet with lawmakers on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., on Thursday, Dec. 5, 2024 (Al Drago/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

“It’s been such a pleasure getting to know @VivekGRamaswamy and work with him. He has a servant’s heart and a brilliant entrepreneurial mind. The people of Ohio would be well served by his leadership, and if he chooses to run, he’ll have my full support,” Blackburn noted in a post.

Ramaswamy retweeted each of the lawmakers’ posts, thanking them.

Sen. Rick Scott, R-Fla., a former Florida governor, endorsed Ramaswamy for Ohio governor last week.

“I’ve had the privilege of working closely with @VivekGRamaswamy and he is totally focused on trying to save our country. He is a business guy who understands what’s needed to grow jobs, make government efficient and help families prosper. He would be a fantastic Governor and I hope he runs for Governor of Ohio. If he runs, he has my full support and endorsement.” Scott noted in a tweet.

Ramaswamy retweeted Scott and thanked him.

MIKE LEE FLOATS ALLOWING PRIVATE PARTIES TO TARGET DRUG CARTELS FOR PROFIT

Ramaswamy has not yet made an announcement, but has been hinting about his plans.

During an appearance on “Jesse Watters Primetime,” Ramaswamy stated that he would seek elected office.

“Ohio was the epicenter of the Industrial Revolution. Toledo was the glass capital, Akron was the rubber capital, Youngstown & Cleveland led in steel, Dayton in computing, Cincinnati in consumer products. In 1950, 6 of the 15 wealthiest U.S. cities were in Ohio. There’s no reason we can’t be a frontier state again,” he declared in a tweet.

The Ohio gubernatorial race will take place in 2026.

VIVEK RAMASWAMY EXPOSES ‘NATIONAL SECURITY RISK’ AS STUDENTS FALL BEHIND IN SCHOOL

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Current Gov. Mike DeWine, a Republican who has held the role since early 2019, is not eligible to run again next year.

Last year, Trump announced Elon Musk and Ramaswamy as his picks to spearhead the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) effort, but on inauguration day, Ramaswamy noted in a post on X, “It was my honor to help support the creation of DOGE. I’m confident that Elon & team will succeed in streamlining government. I’ll have more to say very soon about my future plans in Ohio.”

Ramaswamy launched a White House bid in 2023, but dropped out and endorsed Trump in 2024.

Alex Nitzberg is a writer for Fox News Digital.

February 4, 2025
American Airlines subsidiary announced corporate HQ move from Ohio to North Carolina hours before deadly crash

Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy provides details during an update on the midair collision between an American Airlines jet and an Army Helicopter.

On Wednesday — the same day as the deadly midair collision between a military helicopter and a passenger airplane that occurred Wednesday night — PSA Airlines had announced plans to relocate its corporate headquarters from Ohio to North Carolina, reports indicate.

PSA Airlines made the announcement “hours before” the fatal crash, the Dayton Daily News reported.

PSA is a subsidiary of American Airlines Group. According to American Airlines, American Eagle Flight 5342, the flight involved in the incident, “was operated by PSA Airlines with a CRJ-700.”

DC PLANE CRASH INVESTIGATORS RECOVER AMERICAN AIRLINES BLACK BOXES AFTER MIDAIR COLLISION

An American Eagle, operated by PSA Airlines, a CRJ-700 aircraft arrives at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport on Jan 22, 2025 in Arlington, Va. (Kevin Carter/Getty Images)

Fox News Digital reached out to American Airlines and PSA Airlines for comment about the announced headquarters relocation, but did not receive comment in time for publication.

It appears that there was a page on the PSA airlines website about the headquarters relocation announcement — but the link to that press release, as well as other links to the PSA Airlines website, currently redirect to the homepage of the American Airlines website.

THE MOST RECENT COMMERCIAL AVIATION ACCIDENTS IN THE US

The Punaro Group CEO Gen. Arnold Punaro (ret.) weighs in on the Black Hawk helicopter involved in the D.C. plane crash and Tulsi Gabbard’s Senate confirmation hearing.

“We chose to relocate PSA’s headquarters to Charlotte for several important reasons, including that Charlotte is where most of our daily departures occur and almost all our training is based,” PSA president and CEO Dion Flannery noted, according to the Dayton Daily News. “Charlotte is a vibrant community and home to the world’s seventh-busiest airport.”

“While we’re looking forward to getting integrated into the Charlotte community, I want to sincerely thank the city of Dayton, its leaders and the entire Dayton community for embracing and supporting PSA for so many years. We will continue to have a presence in Dayton with a maintenance hangar and crew base, including more than 550 Dayton-based team members,” he noted, according to the outlet.

SOUTHWEST AIRLINES CEO ON AMERICAN AIRLINES CRASH IN DC: ‘OUR HEARTS GO OUT’

Helicopter pilot Dean Wegner argues there’s ‘a longer story’ behind the tragic American Airlines and helicopter aircraft collision and shares his condolences.

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Dozens lost their lives due to the deadly crash.

“Sadly, there are no survivors,” President Trump said on Thursday.

The incident is under investigation.

The National Transportation Safety Board’s media relations division noted in Thursday a post on X that “NTSB investigators recovered the cockpit voice recorder and flight data recorder from the Bombardier CRJ700 airplane involved in yesterday’s mid-air collision at DCA. The recorders are at the NTSB labs for evaluation.”

January 31, 2025
Trump’s first presidential trip shows his ‘man of the people’ cred after Ohio ‘turning point,’ WH spox says

In her first White House press conference from the James Brady Briefing Room at the White House, Karoline Leavitt said President Donald Trump’s first presidential trip showed why he is a “man of the people” president.

Leavitt suggested Trump’s visit to Hurricane Helene-ravaged parts of the Great Smoky Mountains and wildfire-torched areas of southern California were a predictable start to a second presidency that was, in part, inspired by a previous trip to visit “forgotten” Americans dealing with tragedy.

“President Trump still talks about his visit to East Palestine, Ohio. That was one of the turning points, I would say, in the previous election campaign where Americans were reminded that President Trump is a man of the people and he, as a candidate, visited that town that was just derailed by the train derailment, no pun intended,” Leavitt said.

SENIOR TRUMP OFFICIAL REVEALS WHAT VISIT SET TRAJECTORY FOR VICTORY

President Donald Trump and Asheville, North Carolina (Reuters/Marco Bello | AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)

Trump visited Columbiana County, Ohio, in the wake of the 2023 caustic crisis, and handed out Trump Water and other supplies, while meeting with residents and local leaders.

“He offered support and hope, just like I saw the president do this past week [in North Carolina and California]. It was a purposeful decision by this president on his first domestic trip to go to North Carolina and to California to visit with Americans who were impacted by Hurricane Helene and also by the deadly fires…” Leavitt added.

“[A] red state and a blue state.”

Leavitt said Californians and North Carolinians in the affected areas feel forgotten by the Biden administration, adding Trump will continue to “put Americans first,” whether they voted for him or not.

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The September hurricane caused widespread destruction from Augusta, Georgia, to Damascus, Virginia – notably swelling the banks of the Savannah, Toccoa and Pigeon rivers and wiping out whole communities like Chimney Rock, North Carolina.

A piece of Interstate 40 collapsed into the Pigeon River in Haywood County, North Carolina, and a portion of the crucial U.S. Route 58 artery near Mouth of Wilson, Virginia, remains shut down several months later due to the damage incurred.

Actor Mel Gibson recently gave Fox News Channel a tour of what little remained of his home in Pacific Palisades, California, following this month’s wildfires – as innumerable other houses were reduced to their foundations.

“Everyone is putting on a brave face,” the “Patriot” star said.

Charles Creitz is a reporter for Fox News Digital.

He joined Fox News in 2013 as a writer and production assistant.

Charles covers media, politics and culture for Fox News Digital.

Charles is a Pennsylvania native and graduated from Temple University with a B.A. in Broadcast Journalism. Story tips can be sent to [email protected].

January 28, 2025
Top JD Vance political advisors to steer Ramaswamy run for Ohio governor

Vice President JD Vance’s political team, including two top advisors, are joining Vivek Ramaswamy’s soon-to-be announced 2026 Ohio gubernatorial run, a source with knowledge confirmed to Fox News.

The news follows conversations between Ramaswamy and Vance, who until he stepped down earlier this month to assume the vice presidency was a senator from Ohio, added the operative, who asked to remain anonymous to speak more freely.

Ramaswamy, a multimillionaire biotech entrepreneur and former Republican presidential candidate, for weeks has been putting the pieces together to launch a gubernatorial campaign in the race to succeed GOP Gov. Mike DeWine of Ohio, who is term-limited and cannot seek re-election.

“Expect Vivek to announce his candidacy in mid-February,” the source told Fox News.

RAMASWAMY DONE AT DOGE AS HE HEADS BACK ON CAMPAIGN TRAIL

Vivek Ramaswamy and Kristi Noem applaud during President Donald Trump’s inauguration at the Rotunda of the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 20, 2025. (Kevin Lamarque/Reuters/Pool)

Ramaswamy was among the contenders 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 Andy Surabian and Jai Chabria, who played major roles in Vance’s 2022 Senate race and in his vice presidential campaign last summer and autumn, after Trump named the first-term senator as his running mate.

MUSK AND RAMASWAMY IGNITE MAGA WAR OVER SKILLED WORKER IMIMGRATION

The Ohio-based Chabria, a veteran in Buckeye State politics, is expected to serve as the Ramaswamy campaign’s general consultant.

Surabian, who is also a top advisor to Donald Trump Jr., the president’s eldest son and a top figure in the MAGA movement, will steer an outside political group allied with Ramaswamy.

Tony Fabrizio, the veteran Republican pollster who worked on Trump’s 2016 and 2024 campaigns, as well as Vance’s 2022 Senate campaign, is also on board, according to the source, as is Arthur Schwartz, another close ally to Vance and Donald Trump Jr.

Vice President JD Vance speaks prior to swearing in Pete Hegseth as Defense secretary of Defense in the Eisenhower Executive Office Building on the White House campus, Saturday, Jan. 25, 2025. (AP Photo/Rod Lamkey, Jr.)

Vance, who has known Ramaswamy since they both studied at Yale Law School, has put his imprint on Ohio politics since winning his 2022 Senate election in the one-time key battleground state that has shifted to the right over the past decade.

Vance endorsed now-Sen. Bernie Moreno ahead of his 2024 GOP Senate primary victory, and key members of Vance’s political team steered Moreno’s campaign.

“It should not come as a surprise that JD’s top operatives are working with Vivek, given that JD and Vivek have had a longtime friendship,” a source in Vance’s political orbit told Fox News.

A longtime Ohio-based Republican operative, who asked for anonymity to speak more freely, said Vance is “sending a message” with this move.

He added that the advisors joining the Ramaswamy effort are “an all-star caliber campaign team.”

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Also part of that team, according to the source, are three veterans from Ramaswamy’s White House campaign – Ben Yoho, Mike Biundo and Chris Grant.

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

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

Ramaswamy dropped 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.

Trump, in the days after his November presidential election victory, named Elon Musk, the world’s richest person, along with Ramaswamy, to steer the Department of Government Efficiency initiative, which is better known by its acronym DOGE.

Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy arrive at the U.S. Capitol to discuss their efforts leading DOGE, in December. (Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)

But last Monday, as Trump was inaugurated, 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 without having to share the limelight.

“It was my honor to help support the creation of DOGE. I’m confident that Elon & team will succeed in streamlining government. I’ll have more to say very soon about my future plans in Ohio. Most importantly, we’re all-in to help President Trump make America great again!,” Ramaswamy wrote.

DeWine announced a week and a half ago that Lt. Gov. Jon Husted would fill the U.S. Senate seat that was held by Vance until he stepped down ahead of the Trump/Vance inauguration.

Before the Senate 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.

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

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

Sen. Rick Scott of Florida, a major Trump ally in the Senate, on Monday endorsed Ramswamy’s all-but-certain gubernatorial bid.

“I’ve had the privilege of working closely with Vivek G. Ramaswamy, and he is totally 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 late last week his candidacy for governor.

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Ramaswamy’s move to run for governor also comes a couple of weeks after he and Musk sparked a firestorm among Trump’s hard core MAGA supporters over their support for H-1B temporary worker visas for highly skilled workers from foreign countries.

Ramaswamy’s comments criticizing an American culture that he said “venerated mediocrity over excellence” received plenty of pushback from some leading voices on the right as well as some in Trump’s political circle.

Ohio, which was once a top general election battleground, has shifted red over the past decade as Republicans have dominated statewide elections.

Paul Steinhauser is a politics reporter based in New Hampshire.

January 27, 2025
JD Vance compares Pete Hegseth’s confirmation to Ohio State’s title: ‘Doesn’t matter what the score was’

Vice President JD Vance cast the tiebreaking vote to confirm Pete Hegseth as the next U.S. Secretary of Defense late Friday and might feel a bit like Ohio State quarterback Will Howard.

Vance, an Ohio State alum, celebrated Hegseth’s confirmation with an anecdote that referenced his alma mater’s recent 34-23 national championship victory over Notre Dame.

“As I learned with the Buckeyes just a week ago, when you win the championship, it doesn’t matter what the score was. We won the championship on this one. We’ve got a great Secretary of Defense. We’re proud of him, and he’s going to do a great job,” Vance said.

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Vance has been on a roll with sports analogies lately.

After former President Joe Biden falsely insisted the Constitution had been amended to include the the Equal Rights Amendment as the 28th amendment, Vance mocked that notion with a baseball comparison.

Vance responded to Biden’s declaration in a post on X, joking that Biden should put the late disgraced MLB icon Pete Rose in the Baseball Hall of Fame.

OHIO STATE’S EMEKA EGBUKA REFLECTS ON HOW BUCKEYES RALLIED FROM MICHIGAN LOSS TO WIN NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP

“Hey Joe if we’re doing fake s— on the way out can you declare Pete Rose into the Hall of Fame?” Vance wrote, in reference to an infamous baseball debate. Rose, MLB’s all-time hit leader who died in September, was banned from the sport for life for illegally betting on games.

Vance, meanwhile, got to witness the Buckeyes’ first national title since 2014 the same day he and President Donald Trump were inaugurated. Vance has been a proud, vocal Ohio State football fan throughout his political career as a former senator from the state.

Vance even joked about skipping Monday’s inauguration to watch the Buckeyes take on Notre Dame in Atlanta.

Usha Vance stood out from the crowd wearing a pink coat on Inauguration Day. (Chris Kleponis)

“Hopefully everyone is cool with me skipping the inauguration so I can go to the national title game,” Vance joked in a post on social media.

During the campaign, Vance revealed he told Trump his loyalty to the Buckeyes might affect Trump’s chances of winning the key battleground state of Michigan.

“When he first asked me to be a VP, I was like, ‘Well, you know, hopefully we don’t lose Michigan by like 900 votes, because you’re going to regret it. ‘Cause it’s probably just a thousand p—ed-off Wolverine fans who wouldn’t vote for a Buckeye,” Vance said during an appearance on OutKick’s “The Clay Travis and Buck Sexton Show.”

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“But I think that most Michiganders are going to be able to put sports rivalries aside and put the country first, which is what, of course, all of us believe is the most important thing.”

The Democratic National Committee attempted to exploit Vance’s connection to Ohio State with a campaign strategy in Michigan in early September. The DNC flew a plane over a Michigan football game Sept. 7 with a banner that said, “J.D. Vance [loves] Ohio State [plus] Project 2025.”

However, the Trump-Vance ticket ended up easily carrying Michigan.

Ohio State players celebrating their national title and JD Vance (Getty Images)

Hegseth, 44, a former Minnesota National Guard officer who served in Iraq and Afghanistan, secured the role to lead the Pentagon after weeks of intense political drama over his nomination and public scrutiny of his personal life.

The Senate was deadlocked at 50-50 with three Republicans — Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska; Susan Collins, R-Maine; and Mitch McConnell, R-Ky. — joining the Democrats in opposing Hegseth’s confirmation.

The stalemate forced Vance to cast the tiebreaking vote, securing his confirmation.

“It’s not the first time the headline reads, ‘Junior enlisted Marine bails out junior Army officer,’” Hegseth, a former Fox News host joked, referencing Vance’s previous service in the U.S. Marine Corps.

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Jackson Thompson is a sports writer for Fox News Digital. He previously worked for ESPN and Business Insider. Jackson has covered the Super Bowl and NBA Finals, and has interviewed iconic figures Usain Bolt, Rob Gronkowski, Jerry Rice, Troy Aikman, Mike Trout, David Ortiz and Roger Clemens.

January 25, 2025