Lt. Gov. Jim Tressel, the former Ohio State football coach, has announced he will not jump into a Republican primary that would have put him competing against Ramaswamy for the GOP nomination.
The only Democrat in the gubernatorial race so far is Army Acton, who previously led the Ohio Department of Health, but former Democrat congressman Tim Ryan could also enter that primary.
Ohio’s current Republican governor is Mike DeWine, who is term-limited, and political observers have been watching Tressel for his political plans.
"I believe that our crucial opportunities in the areas of education and workforce deserve my full attention for the remainder of our term," Tressel said in a statement.
Tressel's decision leaves Ramaswamy without a GOP opponent in the primary after Ramaswamy has secured numerous endorsements that include state GOP leaders and President Donald Trump.
Tom Zawistowski, who leads the We the People Convention, tells AFN he suspects Lt. Gov. Tressel was being pressured by powerful GOP figures to run against Ramaswamy.
“Quite frankly, I think it was Jim Tressel himself who just didn't want to run for governor,” he says. “I think they wanted him to. I think they tried to convince him.”
When Tressel was picked by DeWine to become lieutenant governor, political observers in the Buckeye State viewed it as a move to get the popular former Ohio State football coach to run for governor next year. Tressel was seen as the only hope of establishment Republicans to challenge Vivek Ramawamy until he announced that he will not run last week.
Zawistowski calls the state’s powerful Republicans the “Columbus Cartel” and views Ramaswamy as an outsider who can make positive changes.
“I think this is a big win for us, and I was very excited and surprised to see it,” Zawistowski says.
J.C. Church is the founder and lead pastor of Victory in Truth Ministries, a non-denominational church in Bucyrus, Ohio. He believes it is now a foregone conclusion that Ramaswamy will be the next governor of Ohio.
"I don't know the behind-the-scenes conversations or plans, but it would have appeared, maybe after getting involved a little bit and seeing how this business really worked, that he had a change of heart. I really don't know, but it doesn't surprise me," says Church. "I believe it's been a foregone conclusion that Vivek Ramaswamy is going to be the governor."
Church says that Christians in Ohio need to be mindful of the fact that Ramaswamy is a Hindu. He goes on to inform that he communicates on a regular basis with Ramaswamy.
“I do know this from meetings that I've had with him: he has committed publicly that he will pick a born-again Christian lieutenant governor. He has committed publicly – in meetings that we've done – that he will establish an evangelical advisory council group of pastors across the state that would be at the table to have voice and conversation," states Church.
Church also says there is a strong alignment in their conservative values.
