Ohio Gov, Mike DeWine (R) is reportedly “scrambling” behind-the-scenes to keep the Ohio Republican Party from endorsing former presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy to be the state’s next governor.
According to NBC News, DeWine and his advisers are working to deny Ramaswamy an endorsement when the state party meets on Friday.
Four people aware of this spoke to NBC News. One of the sources spoke directly to DeWine about this topic.
President Donald Trump endorsed Ramaswamy. This is the second time the two Republican leaders are at odds (via NBC):
DeWine and Trump were on opposite sides last year in a high-profile GOP Senate primary that Bernie Moreno — Trump’s candidate — ultimately won. And since DeWine chose Ohio State football legend Jim Tressel to serve as his lieutenant governor in January, there has been wide speculation that he prefers the former coach to succeed him. Aside from attending some party fundraisers, Tressel has sent no signals he intends to run, though he has not ruled it out.
“I think he would like to forestall an endorsement taking place, because I think he would like to see if he can convince Jim Tressel to run for governor,” one Republican leader in the state said of DeWine. This person, like others interviewed for this article, was granted anonymity to discuss private conversations and intraparty disputes involving a sitting president and governor.
“As far as who I endorse in the Republican primary for Governor, it is much too early, as we do not even know who all will be in the race,” DeWine said in the Tuesday statement. “We are now 364 days away from the primary and 293 days away from the filing deadline. In politics, this is a lifetime!”
Reportedly, DeWine is not advocating for a specific candidate on Friday, but is advocating for delaying an endorsement in the race. The primary is next May.
