Vivek Ramaswamy, a Republican candidate for Ohio governor and biotech entrepreneur of Indian descent, is attempting to mobilize support within the state’s Indian American community as his campaign navigates significant challenges. Ramaswamy, whose parents immigrated from Kerala and who was born in Cincinnati in 1985, received an endorsement from Donald Trump in February 2025 and won 82 percent of the Republican primary vote last May. However, polling organizations have recently downgraded the race outlook, with the Cook Political Report shifting it from “leans Republican” to “toss-up” status this month, a notable development given Ohio’s two-decade trend of not electing Democrats to the governorship.
Ramaswamy’s path to connecting with voters has proven difficult. Critics point to various missteps, including comments appearing to criticize American culture in December 2024, difficulty articulating local knowledge during campaign appearances, and spending part of the Fourth of July weekend in Paris. A security employee working for Ramaswamy was arrested on drug trafficking charges in January, leading the campaign to terminate the security company. Additionally, observers note his limited political experience, having unsuccessfully run for president in 2024 before becoming a Trump supporter, and his brief tenure in a role created to work with Elon Musk on government efficiency.
The Indian American community in Ohio represents the state’s largest immigrant group and typically leans Democratic, though recent data suggest potential shifts in political alignment. According to the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, Democratic identification among Indian Americans declined from 52 percent in 2020 to 46 percent as of the time of reporting. Some community members express strong support for Ramaswamy, with the Ohio chapter of Americans4Hindus, a political action committee formed last November, immediately endorsing him. Neil Patel, the organization’s president, characterizes community support as ranging from 70 to 80 percent.
Opposition within the Indian American community exists as well. Attorney Priya Tamilarasan, whose parents immigrated from Tamil Nadu, argues that Ramaswamy appears disconnected from the concerns of both Indian Americans and broader Ohio communities, emphasizing that shared ethnicity alone does not guarantee political support. Ramaswamy faces Democrat Amy Acton, a fellow political novice who led Ohio’s Covid-19 response in 2020. The state is home to substantial Indian American populations, with an estimated 18,000 living in the Columbus metropolitan area and approximately 6,000 in the Dublin suburb, where cultural institutions including Bollywood movie screenings and a cricket club with 70 to 80 percent Indian heritage membership are established features of community life.
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