WASHINGTON — Republican gubernatorial candidate Vivek Ramaswamy raised $9.88 million during the second half of 2025, setting a new fundraising record for an Ohio governor’s race, according to his campaign.
The July–December total surpassed the $9.7 million the campaign raised during the first half of the year and marked the strongest single reporting-period performance by a gubernatorial candidate in the state, campaign officials said. The figures do not include any personal contributions from Ramaswamy.
“You simply don’t see this level of support in a gubernatorial race in Ohio,” said campaign manager Jonathan Ewing. “Raising $9.88 million in a single reporting period and nearly $20 million in the year before the election sends an unmistakable message: Vivek’s campaign has historic momentum that no other campaign can match.”
According to the campaign, Ramaswamy raised more than $19.57 million in total during 2025, more than doubling the previous Ohio gubernatorial fundraising record of $8.4 million set by then-candidate Mike DeWine in 2017.
Since launching his campaign in late February 2025, Ramaswamy has held 112 campaign events that included a fundraising component, the campaign said. It added that the $9.7 million raised earlier in the year came from roughly 40,000 unique donors and that the $9.88 million raised in the second half of 2025 similarly reflects contributions from supporters, not self-funding.
Campaign officials said Ramaswamy’s early fundraising totals already exceed the entire campaign receipts of several past Ohio gubernatorial candidates. In its first two financial filings, the campaign said, Ramaswamy raised more than the full campaign totals of John Kasich in 2010 and 2014, Mike DeWine in 2022, and Democrat Richard Cordray in 2018.
The campaign also cited endorsements as further evidence of momentum, noting that Ramaswamy has secured backing from conservative lawmakers, community leaders, law enforcement officials, business leaders, and labor groups in Ohio, including some that have historically supported Democratic candidates. The campaign said Ramaswamy received President Donald Trump’s endorsement on the first day of his campaign.
At its current pace, the campaign said, Ramaswamy is on track to surpass DeWine’s total fundraising record of $24 million from the 2018 gubernatorial race.
Details of the campaign’s 2025 semiannual finance report, covering activity from July 1 through December 31, 2025, are expected to be filed with the Ohio secretary of state by January 31, 2026.
The 2026 election will determine a successor to term-limited Republican Gov. Mike DeWine. If elected, Ramaswamy would become the third Indian American governor in U.S. history, following Bobby Jindal and Nikki Haley. (Source: IANS)
