Vivek Ramaswamy campaign files nominating petitions to appear on 2026 ballot

It’s official: Vivek Ramaswamy is running for governor.

The Ohio native and entrepreneur’s campaign has filed its nominating petitions to appear on the November ballot for governor. The campaign said it submitted “well over double” the 1,000 signatures required by today’s deadline, which it said underscores “the unmatched grassroots support behind Vivek’s candidacy.”

“The energy behind Vivek’s campaign is growing every single day because Ohioans want results—and they know Vivek is the only candidate who can deliver,” Jonathan Ewing, campaign manager for Vivek for Ohio, said in a release. “Vivek is a successful businessman focused on one scoreboard: lower costs, bigger paychecks, and better schools. That’s why the momentum is undeniable.”

Last week, the campaign announced that it raised $19.8 million in 2025. The campaign said the fundraising haul marked “the strongest fundraising performance ever by a gubernatorial candidate in Ohio history.” The campaign said the fundraising figure “does not include personal investment from Vivek.”

Ramaswamy announced his bid for governor nearly a year ago, in February 2025. He is expected to first face off against Heather Hill and Casey Putsch in the Republican primary, according to Ballotpedia.

Last month, the President Donald Trump-endorsed and the Ohio Republican Party-endorsed Ramaswamy announced Ohio Senate President Rob McColley, R-Napoleon, as his running mate. Presuming they breeze through the Republican primary, they will face Democratic candidates Amy Acton, who abruptly left her post as director of the Department of Health amid the COVID-19 pandemic, and David Pepper, the former Ohio Democratic Party chair.

Polls show a tight race at this early stage. Regardless, according to at least one report, the gubernatorial showdown could be one of the most expensive campaigns in state history, if not the most.

“Money usually starts going in the direction of who people think is gonna win,” Republican strategist Bob Clegg told News 5 Cleveland. “…The Democrats have probably resigned themselves to the fact that they’re going to be greatly, greatly, greatly outspent.”