At the Hindu Temple of Dayton in southwest Ohio, there is a sense of pride as gubernatorial candidate Vivek Ramaswamy and his parents have been longtime visitors to the temple. Shri Ashwani Kumar, a priest from India’s Himachal Pradesh who has served there since the early 1990s, recalls, “I remember him coming here with his parents when he was a little child,” and says he plans to vote for Ramaswamy in the November 2026 election. Kumar adds, “Real Hindu people believe in goodness. Peace and goodness.”

Ramaswamy, born in Cincinnati in 1985 to parents who immigrated from Kerala, holds degrees from Harvard and Yale. He received Donald Trump’s endorsement for Ohio governor in February 2025, nearly two years before the election, surprising many in Ohio’s Republican establishment.

However, Ramaswamy’s campaign has faced challenges. Pollsters at the Cook Political Report recently shifted the Ohio gubernatorial race from "leans Republican" to a "toss-up," despite Ohio not electing a Democrat governor in two decades and Trump’s 2024 presidential victory in the state by over 11 points.

In December 2024, Ramaswamy sparked controversy by criticizing American workers on X, stating, “Our American culture has venerated mediocrity over excellence for way too long … A culture that celebrates the prom queen over the math olympiad champ, or the jock over the valedictorian, will not produce the best engineers.”

Further criticism arose over his perceived detachment from voters, highlighted by his response to a reporter in Youngstown about favorite local spots and his choice to spend part of the Fourth of July weekend in Paris during the America 250 celebrations. Priya Tamilarasan, an attorney and Democrat from the Columbus area with Indian heritage, commented, “I think that Vivek, unfortunately, is out of touch from the struggles and concerns of the community – both the Indian American community, and the majority of Ohioans.”

Ramaswamy has limited political experience, having failed in his 2024 Republican presidential bid before becoming a strong supporter of Trump.

Sources