A red state, a Trump endorsement, and national name recognition should have been enough. Instead, Vivek Ramaswamy has become a test of how much voters will overlook.
Things are not looking great for Vivek Ramaswamy.
Two polls released this week put Democrat Amy Acton ahead in the Ohio governor’s race. A Marist poll shows Acton leading 50% to 44% among registered voters, while a Suffolk University poll has her ahead 50% to 41% among likely voters. Another survey indicates Ramaswamy is narrowly ahead, meaning the race remains far from settled.
But Ohio—a state Donald Trump carried comfortably in 2024—should not be producing this kind of anxiety for Republicans.
Ramaswamy spent years mastering the language of the populist right. The question is whether enough voters believe that language reflects conviction rather than calculation.
Some of the explanation is national. Midterms punish incumbent parties. Trump’s approval has tanked, the war with Iran is unpopular, fuel prices have surged, and voters remain angry about affordability. Republicans still control Congress but have struggled to turn that control into accomplishments voters can see and feel.
Ramaswamy presents an additional problem for the party, one it created for itself.
The Cincinnati native was born in 1985 to Indian immigrant parents. His father came to the United States on a student visa and later worked for General Electric; his mother obtained a green card and became a physician. Ramaswamy became a citizen at birth under the 14th Amendment. In other words, he was an “anchor baby.” His mother later naturalized, while his father did not.
