Former Ohio State football coach Jim Tressel decides not to run for governor in 2026 Politics Sep 19, 2025 2:34 PM EDT

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — Former Ohio State football coach and current Lt. Gov. Jim Tressel said Friday he won’t run for Ohio governor in 2026, easing the path toward a Republican nomination for biotech entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy.

A bid by Tressel could have shaken up a race that many have seen as a shoe-in for the Cincinnati-born Ramaswamy, who has been endorsed by President Donald Trump and the Ohio Republican Party. Amy Acton, who led Ohio’s health department early in the COVID-19 pandemic, is running as a Democrat.

READ MORE: Sherrod Brown expected to seek his return to the Senate in 2026

Term-limited Republican Gov. Mike DeWine chose Tressel, 72, as his lieutenan

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