Republican entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy selected Ohio Senate President Rob McColley as his running mate Wednesday, while Democratic former state health director Amy Acton chose former state party chair David Pepper, as both tickets in Ohio’s open governor’s race filled the experience gap that had defined them. The announcements came on the same day, with Ramaswamy staging an introduction event in Cleveland and Acton and Pepper making their first joint public appearance at an affordability roundtable in Columbus. Republican Gov. Mike DeWine cannot seek reelection because of term limits.
The picks give both tickets their first candidates with backgrounds in elective office. Ramaswamy, a billionaire biotech executive, and Acton, a physician and former nonprofit executive, had each built campaigns around their outsider credentials; their running-mate choices reflect a shared calculation that governing experience will matter to Ohio voters in the 2026 contest.
Ramaswamy’s pick
Ramaswamy, 40, announced McColley’s selection before a crowd in Cleveland, framing the choice as a deliberate complement to his own profile.
“I’m an entrepreneur, not a politician,” Ramaswamy said. “He has experience that I don’t.”
McColley, 41, of northwest Ohio, was first elected to the Ohio House in 2014 before being appointed to the Senate to fill a vacancy in December 2017. He currently serves as Ohio Senate president. Ramaswamy’s campaign touted McColley’s record reducing government bureaucracy and cutting taxes, as well as his opposition to Acton’s COVID-19 orders when she served as state health director under DeWine.
The Democratic Lieutenant Governors Association responded quickly, pointing to McColley’s support for legislation banning most abortions in Ohio and creating new obstacles for solar and wind energy projects.
“Vivek Ramaswamy’s choice of Rob McColley as his running mate tells Ohioans everything they need to know: this ticket is about power and special interests, not lowering costs,” said Kevin Holst, the group’s executive director.
Acton’s pick
Acton said Pepper’s record solving problems at the local level made him the right partner for a governor’s campaign.
“I’ve been going everywhere and listening deeply for almost two years now, and people are longing for public servants again who solve the problems of our everyday life,” Acton said in an interview. She said Pepper “has faced just about every problem a governor faces” through his service on Cincinnati City Council and the Hamilton County Commission.
Acton’s campaign highlighted Pepper’s work spearheading a foreclosure prevention program, a prescription drug discount program for county residents, and an earned income tax credit initiative, as well as his record holding the line on property taxes and helping balance county budgets.
Ramaswamy’s campaign moved swiftly to undercut the selection. Chief strategist Jai Chabria called Pepper “a nepo baby” — a reference to his father’s career as a Procter & Gamble executive — and cited Pepper’s history of unsuccessful bids for higher office, including races for mayor of Cincinnati, Ohio auditor of state, and Ohio attorney general, where Chabria said Pepper received just 38 percent of the vote.
Race context
Ohio’s governor’s race is among the more closely watched state contests of the 2026 cycle. Neither Ramaswamy nor Acton had previously held elective office before entering the race, leaving both campaigns exposed to questions about their readiness to govern. Wednesday’s running-mate announcements represent the first significant effort by each campaign to address that vulnerability directly.