COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) — The race for Ohio governor in 2026 is already well under way, more than a year before the election.
“This is really early for a governor’s race to sort of start and almost end,” Republican strategist Matt Dole said. “It’s just been a combination of the party wanting to see the primary over earlier and a candidate coming in and using sort of a national name for himself.”
Here’s where things stand:
- On the Republican side, businessman Vivek Ramaswamy is the frontrunner. Ramaswamy is endorsed by President Donald Trump and the Ohio GOP. He has raised $9.6 million already for his campaign.
- Small business owner Heather Hill is also vying for the Republican nomination.
- Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost and Ohio Treasurer Robert Sprague both were part of the Republican primary but ultimately dropped out at varying points.
- Former Ohio Health Director Dr. Amy Acton remains the only Democrat currently in the race.
With only one major candidate on each side, both parties are waiting to see who else will jump in. Lieutenant Governor Jim Tressel (R-Ohio) still will not say what his plans are. “No news on this front,” Tressel said on Tuesday.
Dole said Tressel’s time to jump in has long passed and said it would have needed to happen before the Ohio Republican Party endorsed Ramaswamy.
“Jim Tressel can’t get in the race at this point,” he said. “Vivek Ramaswamy just announced $9.5 million raised in four and half months. Jim Tressel is a universally known name in the state of Ohio, but he still has to build a campaign, which he’s never done, he’s never been a candidate for office. And I think as the former head coach of Ohio State, he can read a scouting report and knows that it’s probably past the opportunity.”
“Vivek Ramaswamy has done a pretty good job of rallying all the troops on his side, both in state and then of course with his support from Trump and the MAGA movement at large,” Democratic strategist Morgan Harper said.
Harper agreed with Dole – that Tressel has the name ID on lock, but the timing may have gotten away from him. Democrats are waiting to see if people like former Senator Sherrod Brown or former U.S. Rep. Tim Ryan throw their hats into the race.
“No denying that they would still have the ability to enter, but the clock is ticking for them too,” Harper said. “For a Democrat to be competitive in the 2026 governor’s race, they are going to have to raise a lot of money. And it’s tough to raise money at any time for democrats at this point in Ohio, but particularly in an off-cycle race for an in-state election like governor.”
Harper said for Democrats to be competitive in the 2026 race, they need to focus on grassroots efforts, “to connect with people directly and really drive turnout.” She said they also need to have a strong message.
“Getting started on that early, really showing that you have a message that’s going to change the trajectory for Ohio democrats that unfortunately we’ve been seeing a lot of losses over the last few cycles,” Harper said. “That isn’t going to happen overnight and so that’s really the time pressure here is making sure that we have enough runway to raise the big sums that Vivek Ramaswamy has already shown. He has the personal resources and the MAGA movement behind him to generate a lot of resources.”
And Dole said the next steps for Ramaswamy will be deciding on a running mate who will help him reach more Ohioans.
“I think his team is looking at the general election math, right, I think he sees that he has the primary election sown up. He’s looking at general election math and if he sees an area, whether its geographically, whether its diversity. Whatever it is that he feels he needs to fill, he will do that,” Dole said.
Not only will Ohio elect a new governor in 2026 but all executive branch office holders in Ohio are also term limited.
