Ramaswamy won't say how he'd govern Ohio — but his attack ads are everywhere

NewsOhio’s governor’s race has a transparency problem, and his name is Vivek RamaswamyVivek Ramaswamy, the 2026 Republican nominee for Ohio governor, keeps refusing to answer questions about how he'd govern or hangle key issues facing the state. Today in Ohio podcast hosts say that with his seeming lack of interest in the state and his decision to move his company out of Ohio to Texas, voters should wonder why he wants the governor's job at all.Jeremy Pelzer, cleveland.comBy Today in Ohiocleveland.comVivek Ramaswamy won’t tell Ohioans how he’d govern, raising questions about why he’s even running.Today in Ohio podcast hosts asked Monday what kind of candidate for governor won’t answer basic policy questions. Instead, his well-funded campaign floods YouTube and television with attack adsThe latest example of Ramaswamy’s silence came when reporter Jeremy Pelzer sent all three major gubernatorial candidates — Ramaswamy, Democrat Amy Acton, and Libertarian Don Kissick — the same four detailed questions about Ohio’s online sports betting landscape. Ohio’s sports betting industry has exploded since legalization, and questions around taxation, problem gambling protections, and the expansion of online gambling are all likely to land on the next governor’s desk.Acton and Kissick both responded with substantive answers. Acton said she’d consider legalizing more forms of internet gambling to generate revenue for public schools, childcare, and property tax relief. She also called for additional safeguards, including restrictions on certain in-game bets and tougher rules on gambling advertising targeting young people. Kissick, coming at it from a libertarian perspective, argued that prohibition doesn’t work and that regulated legal gambling is preferable to underground alternatives, though he drew the line at what he called an “entertainment nanny state.”Ramaswamy’s plan? Who knows. “Ramaswamy’s campaign simply did not respond,” podcast host Leila Atassi said. “So we still don’t know whether he’d expand online gambling, or raise or lower sports betting taxes, or back more protections for problem gamblers -- or do anything at all differently.”*Ramaswamy’s silence is officially a pattern. The betting story was Pelzer’s fifth on the issues, and Ramaswamy has refused to answer questions on all but one. Ramaswamy routinely declines to engage with Ohio media on the specifics of how he’d govern the state. Podcast host Chris Quinn wondered about Ramaswamy’s true motive in seeking the governor’s chair.“It is bizarre to me that he’s running for governor because he has no real ties to the state. He moved his company out of the state, which should have doomed his political future right there. He’s almost never here,” Quinn said.Quinn went further, pointing to the role of outside money — specifically from Elon Musk — in funding Ramaswamy’s campaign, and questioning what that financial backing actually signals about the candidate’s priorities and loyalties.“It feels like he’s almost invading the state and he’s convincing people somehow he’s good for it. We have no idea what he would do. He just doesn’t talk about it. And I think he thinks his money is going to buy him the office,” Quinn said.Meanwhile, Acton is doing the grassroots work — making appearances, putting policies on record, and building a case to voters one conversation at a time. But as Lisa Garvin pointed out on the podcast, she has virtually no TV presence, while Ramaswamy’s attack ads against her are seemingly everywhere, including on YouTube.Quinn said he does see plenty of Acton’s spots on social media.Listen to the conversation here.“He’s acting deranged:” How Max Miller is turning his divorce into a Congressional seat–losing disasterHome explosions are raising alarming questions. What’s happening under Northeast Ohio’s streets?From the Access Hollywood tape to Max Miller: Has political scandal lost its power to shock us?Listen to full “Today in Ohio” episodes where Chris Quinn hosts our daily half-hour news podcast, with Editorial Board member Lisa Garvin, Impact Editor Leila Atassi and Content Director Laura Johnston.