Ramaswamy, endorsed by Trump, wins Ohio primary for governor : NPR

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Wealthy biotech entrepreneur and former presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy has won Ohio’s Republican primary for governor, according to an Associated Press race call.

He took an aggressive but traditional route to securing the nomination. On the day of President Trump’s inauguration, Ramaswamy announced that he was leaving the president’s newly created Department of Government Effectiveness. That evening, Trump threw his support behind Ramaswamy with what he called his “complete and total support.”

On Tuesday, Ramaswamy won by a comfortable margin over Casey Putsch, a northwest Ohio auto designer and racing team owner new to politics who attacked Ramaswamy for his South Asian heritage.

Democrat Amy Acton will face Ramaswamy in the general election. In red Ohio, where no Democrat has been elected governor in 20 years, the race appears competitive. The Cook Political Report, which tracks the election, changed the race from one that Republicans were likely to win to one that simply leans in Ramaswamy’s favor. But the Republican has vast financial resources and has raised enormous sums of money.

Acton is the state’s former health director, appointed to the position in 2019 by Republican Gov. Mike DeWine. She played a major role in Ohio’s response to the COVID pandemic, signing DeWine’s orders that restricted in-person gatherings, closed nonessential businesses and closed K-12 schools. Republicans nicknamed her “Dr. Lockdown” and used her response to the pandemic to campaign against her. DeWine defended Acton’s work as health director, even though he supports Ramaswamy, and said decisions related to the pandemic “were made by the governor.”

His campaign focused on the high cost of living, an issue that left voters unhappy with Republicans. She pushed for child tax credits, lowering prescription drug costs, lowering utility costs and helping Ohioans stay on Medicaid, among other things.

When Ramaswamy launched his campaign in February last year, he said he wanted to see property taxes eliminated. He backed away from that proposal and is now talking about enacting “the largest property tax cut in Ohio history.” He also sparked fears by proposing to consolidate or close the state’s public universities.