New York, Jan 20 (IANS) Vivek Ramaswamy, who was appointed by US President-elect Donald Trump as the co-head of a body to improve government efficiency, is planning to run for governor of Ohio, according to media reports.
USA Today reported on Sunday that according to a source close to him, Ramaswamy will announce his run for governor “shortly”.
If elected, he would become the third Indian-American elected governor, after Bobby Jindal in Louisiana and Nikki Haley in South Carolina, all Republicans.
The three made unsuccessful bids for the party’s presidential nomination.
An avowed anti-Left crusader, Ramaswamy, 39, ran against Trump for the Republican Party’s presidential nomination but dropped out to become one of his most vociferous supporters.
Trump appointed him to be the co-head of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) with Elon Musk after having hinted during the campaign that he may even be considered for Secretary of State.
“He’s really smart, and I hope he’s going to be involved in our administration,” Trump said.
“We can put him in charge of one of these big monsters (in government) and he’ll do a better job than anybody you can think of.”
At the DOGE, only an advisory body outside the government, Ramaswamy, who has a strong personality and is a multi-millionaire, was overshadowed by Elon, who has a stronger personality, is a multi-billionaire and closer to Trump.
While DOGE’s role has to be firmed up, Ramaswamy’s position is even vaguer, and a run for governor gives him an out.
Last week there were reports that Trump recommended that Ramaswamy take the Senate seat vacated by Vice President-elect JD Vance if it was offered to him.
But Ohio Governor Mike DeWine, who appoints an interim Senator, chose Lieutenant Governor Jon Husted who was considered his possible successor.
That opened the gubernatorial run for Ramaswamy, who will have to first win the Republican nomination for the election in November next year, along with Midterm polls for Congress.
Ohio’s Attorney General Dave Yost and Treasurer Robert Sprague were reported to be preparing to run for the nomination.
The state is overwhelmingly Republican, giving whoever is the party’s candidate a smooth path to the governorship.
Trump won it with a lead of over 11 per cent, and Republicans have a commanding majority in both Chambers of the legislature.
Ramaswamy, whose net worth Forbes puts at $960 million, has a financial advantage in the race as he can himself finance the campaign, unlike his rivals.
He made his fortune first as a biotech entrepreneur and now runs a hedge fund that he co-founded.
In August, Ramaswamy had shown interest in running for both Senator and governor.
In an interview with the Outback website, Ramaswamy said, “Governor is something that people are pushing me for a lot in Ohio. And how could I not consider it?”
“But also, there’s JD Vance, a Senate seat that’s now open in my home state in Ohio, and I think that’s something that a lot of people have really pushed me to consider,” he added.
–IANS
al/khz
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