WASHINGTON, Aug 22: US Vice President J D Vance has endorsed fellow Republican and Indian-American politician Vivek Ramaswamy in the Ohio gubernatorial race, saying he would make a "great governor" of the state.
Speaking at a rally in Ohio on Friday, Vance described Ramaswamy as his friend and praised him as a strong candidate for the upcoming election.
"We've also got, I believe, a great gubernatorial candidate, but also a great next governor of Ohio, my friend Vivek Ramaswamy," Vance said.
"I don't think that anybody needed to encourage Vivek to go to the polling location that day. When your name is on the ballot, nobody needs to make you go vote. But Vivek's going to make a great governor for the state of Ohio," he added.
Ramaswamy, 41, won the Republican primary in May and will represent the party in the November election. He has received the backing of US President Donald Trump.
The endorsement comes weeks after Ramaswamy was booed and heckled at a Young Americans for Liberty conference in Cincinnati following remarks that drew a hostile response from the audience.
Ramaswamy, a former co-chair of Trump's Department of Government Efficiency, had launched a presidential campaign in 2024 before withdrawing from the race and endorsing Trump.
The son of immigrants from Kerala, Ramaswamy was born in Cincinnati. He studied at Harvard University and Yale Law School before entering the biotechnology and financial sectors.
He founded biotech company Roivant Sciences and served as its CEO from 2014 to 2021.
