Strive Co-Founder Vivek Ramaswamy Projected to Lose Ohio Governor Race to Democrat

Strive co-founder Vivek Ramaswamy, the Republican nominee in Ohio’s gubernatorial race, is projected to lose to the Democratic candidate.

Bloomberg reported on November 3 that election analytics firm Decision Desk HQ projected Democrat Amy Acton to defeat Ramaswamy and become Ohio’s next governor.

Early vote counts from the Associated Press showed Acton leading with 50.7% of the vote, compared with 46% for Ramaswamy. If Acton ultimately wins, Democrats would capture an Ohio governor’s race for the first time since 2006. Ohio is a state President Donald Trump carried by about 11 percentage points in the 2024 presidential election.

The race drew attention because the Democratic candidate maintained an edge despite heavy Republican spending. Ramaswamy and Republican-affiliated groups spent more than $165 million on campaign advertising, according to political ad tracking firm AdImpact.

The campaign was also marked by controversy over a Republican ad featuring members of Acton’s family. Ramaswamy aired an ad in which Acton’s estranged mother called her daughter a liar. The spot drew criticism even within Republican circles, and Ramaswamy later said he halted the ad buy late in the race.

During the campaign, Acton focused on easing cost-of-living pressures and addressing issues tied to data center construction. At a rally in Dayton, Ohio, before the election, she said residents no longer had any financial breathing room and pledged to work to lower costs across the board.

Ramaswamy, by contrast, campaigned on reducing property tax burdens and phasing out the state income tax. He also said repealing the capital gains tax would be a priority. Ramaswamy ran in the 2024 Republican presidential primary before dropping out and later endorsing Trump.

Ahead of the start of the Trump administration in 2025, Ramaswamy was also named, alongside Tesla CEO Elon Musk, as a figure set to lead the Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE. His loss in Ohio is now drawing attention to what comes next in his political career.