Ramaswamy is expected to start the gubernatorial campaign in DOGE, Ohio, early next week: sources

Former Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy has been initiated by President Trump’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), a source close to the multi-millionaire biotech entrepreneur confirmed to Fox News Digital.

And Ramaswamy, along with the world’s richest man Elon Musk, who was tapped by Trump to lead DOGE in November, is expected to launch a Republican campaign for Ohio governor as early as next week, the source said.

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

DeWine announced on Friday that Lt. Gov. John Husted, the U.S. Senate seat held by former Sen. J.D. Vance until earlier this month, resigned before the vice president-elect’s inauguration on Monday.

Musk and Ramaswamy IGNITE MAGA war on skilled labor migration

Before the Senate announcement, Husted had planned to run for governor in 2026 to replace DeWine. Ramaswamy, on the other hand, expressed interest in serving in the Senate.

The decision to pick DeWyn Husted to fill the vacant Senate seat appears to have accelerated Ramaswamy’s move to launch a gubernatorial race.

Ohio Governor Mike DeWine announced in Columbus, Ohio that he has nominated Lt. Gov. John Husted to fill the US Senate seat previously held by Vice President JD Vance. . (AP Photo/Julie Carr Smith)

In the year Ramaswamy, 39, who launched his presidential campaign in February 2023, has seen his stock rise as he moves from a longshot to the Republican nomination.

Click here for the Fox News report on Vivek Ramaswamy

Ramaswamy, who campaigned on an agenda he calls “America First 2.0,” is one of Trump’s biggest supporters in the field and has called Trump “the most successful president of our century.”

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

After finishing a distant fourth in the Iowa caucuses, he gave up his White House bid a year ago and quickly endorsed Trump to become a top candidate on the campaign trail.

Ramaswamy’s exit appears to clear the way for Trump’s top donor and key ally, Musk.

Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy are leading the effort to reduce government efficiency. (Photo by Andrew Harnick/Getty Images)

The move comes just weeks after Ramswamy and Musk drew fire among Trump’s hard-core MAGA supporters over their support for H-1B temporary worker visas for highly skilled foreign workers.

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Ramaswamy’s comments criticizing American culture that “valued mediocrity over excellence” received a lot of pushback from leading voices on the right.

Ohio, once a major general election battleground, has turned red over the past decade as Republicans dominate statewide polls.