A winning combination…
Multiple members of Vice President JD Vance’s political team, including two top advisors, are joining Vivek Ramaswamy‘s all-but-certain 2026 Ohio gubernatorial run, a source with knowledge confirmed to Fox News.
The news follows conversations between Ramaswamy and Vance, who until he stepped down earlier this month to assume the vice presidency was a senator from Ohio, added the operative, who asked to remain anonymous to speak more freely.
“Expect Vivek to announce his candidacy in mid-February,” the source told Fox News.
The two Vance advisors are Andy Surabian and Jai Chabria, who played major roles in Vance’s 2022 Senate race and in his vice presidential campaign after Trump named the first-term Ohio senator as his running mate.
The Ohio-based Chabria, a veteran in Buckeye State politics, is expected to serve as the Ramaswamy campaign’s general consultant.
Surabian, who is also a top advisor to Donald Trump Jr., will steer an outside political group allied with Ramaswamy.
Tony Fabrizio, the veteran Republican pollster who worked on Trump’s 2016 and 2024 campaigns, as well as Vance’s 2022 Senate campaign, is also on board, according to the source, as is Arthur Schwartz, another close ally to Vance and Donald Trump Jr.
“It should not come as a surprise that JD’s top operatives are working with Vivek, given that JD and Vivek have had a longtime friendship,” a source in Vance’s political orbit told Fox News.
An Ohio-based Republican operative, who asked for anonymity to speak openly said Vance is “sending a message” with this move, adding that the advisors joining the Ramaswamy effort are “an all-star caliber campaign team.”
The 39-year-old multimillionaire biotech entrepreneur, launched his presidential campaign in February 2023 and quickly saw his popularity rise. Ramaswamy dropped his White House bid after a distant fourth-place finish in the Iowa caucuses and endorsed Trump.
Shortly after his November presidential election victory, Trump named Elon Musk, the world’s richest person, along with Ramaswamy, to steer the Department of Government Efficiency initiative (DOGE).
However, the new Trump administration announced that Ramaswamy was no longer serving at DOGE last Monday. (RELATED: Vivek Ramaswamy To Step Away From DOGE: Political Aspirations Take Priority)
“It was my honor to help support the creation of DOGE. I’m confident that Elon & team will succeed in streamlining government. I’ll have more to say very soon about my future plans in Ohio. Most importantly, we’re all-in to help President Trump make America great again!,” Ramaswamy wrote.
Ohio Governor Mike DeWine (R) announced that Lt. Gov. Jon Husted would fill the U.S. Senate seat that was held by Vance until he stepped down ahead of the Trump/Vance inauguration. DeWine’s decision to choose Husted to fill the vacant Senate seat appeared to accelerate Ramaswamy’s move toward launching a run for governor.
The race for the GOP gubernatorial nomination could see a crowded field of nominees. Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost announced his own bid for governor last week.
“This is my heart, my home,” Yost said in a Thursday press release announcing his candidacy. “I work for the people of Ohio, and I love my bosses. From the time I get up in the morning until I go to bed at night, I’m thinking about them and our future.”
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Sure would be an improvement over his predecessor DeWino DeRINO.
Good keep it in MAGA