Attorney General Dave Yost has suspended his campaign to be the Republican nominee for the 2026 race for Ohio governor, after losing a major endorsement to tech billionaire and former presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy last week.
Yost said in an email to supporters that it's "apparent that a steep climb to the nomination for governor has become a vertical cliff. I do not wish to divide my political party or my state with a quixotic battle over the small differences between my vision and that of my opponent. I am simply not that important."
He wrote that he's concerned about "the comeback attempt by Sherrod Brown", who has so far not said he's running for any statewide office next year. But Brown has backed former representative Kathleen Clyde as the next Ohio Democratic Party chair, suggesting the 2026 statewide elections have his interest.
Yost wrote he'll serve out his term as attorney general, which ends in January 2027, "and I suspect that this is not my final chapter. There is fire in my bones for justice, and the unforced rhythms of grace in my heart (to borrow from the poet Eugene Peterson)."
Yost, who was state auditor for eight years before winning the attorney general's office in 2018, announced his run for governor in January, after months of hinting he wanted the job. It was widely expected he'd face off against Jon Husted, who was lieutenant governor. But the race changed when Donald Trump won his second term in November, and Gov. Mike DeWine appointed Husted to replace new vice president JD Vance in the U.S. Senate. Ramaswamy met with DeWine about the Senate appointment just before Inauguration Day, when he announced he was leaving Trump's Department of Government Efficiency as the Trump administration was beginning, and that he planned to run for elected office.
Ramaswamy launched his run for governor a few weeks after Yost. Both were chasing endorsements, but Ramaswamy landed some key ones, including an immediate one from President Trump. The Ohio Republican Party's state central committee formally backed Ramaswamy last Friday, several months before the party normally endorses a candidate, if they do. Yost didn't attend the meeting, but instead was at the funeral for a retired Hamilton County sheriff's deputy killed in a traffic detail the week before.
Ramaswamy said in a statement: “Congratulations to Dave on running a thoughtful campaign. He has served Ohio with great dedication, and I am confident he will continue to play an important role in shaping the future of our state and our nation.”
