Three weeks before the May 5 Republican primary for governor, the race’s most vocal underdog is escalating his attacks on frontrunner Vivek Ramaswamy — this time taking aim at the National Rifle Association for backing him.

Casey Putsch, a Perrysburg automotive entrepreneur and Tiffin native challenging Ramaswamy in the GOP primary, posted a roughly 44-minute video to YouTube in which he called the NRA to cancel his membership on camera, displayed personal firearms from his collection, and played clips from Ramaswamy’s 2023 speech at the NRA-ILA Leadership Forum in Indianapolis.

“When the NRA sells out the entirety of Ohio and our American values,” Putsch said early in the video, they “can go [expletive] themselves.”

The NRA Political Victory Fund recently endorsed Ramaswamy’s gubernatorial bid. NRA-PVF Chairman John Commerford said in a statement that Ramaswamy “has proven himself a fierce, unwavering champion of the Second Amendment.”

Putsch disputes that characterization. Much of his video centers on Ramaswamy’s own remarks at the 2023 NRA convention, where the then-presidential candidate told the audience he came from “an anti-gun household,” had visited a shooting range “probably less than I can count on two hands,” and told an attendee who quizzed him on what “AR” stands for in AR-15 that “it stands for freedom.” The initials actually refer to ArmaLite, the company that originally designed the rifle.

Putsch, who displayed several firearms during the video — including an M1 Garand he said belonged to his grandfather who served in the Battle of Okinawa, a 1911 Colt, a single-action revolver, a lever-action rifle, and 2 AR-platform rifles — argued that Ramaswamy’s limited experience with firearms disqualifies him from the NRA’s endorsement.

Canceling on camera

In one of the video’s most striking segments, Putsch called the NRA’s membership line and spoke with 2 representatives. He identified himself by name, gave his membership number, and told the first representative he wanted to cancel “in totality” because the NRA had endorsed Ramaswamy.

“There is nothing remotely American about him and he’s only a Trojan horse,” Putsch told the representative. “I am almost don’t have words for how absolutely disgusted I am with what the NRA has become.”

The first representative, who identified himself as working for a professional solicitation firm contracted by the NRA, told Putsch he respected his opinion and transferred the call. A second representative, identified as a membership specialist, told Putsch he would need to submit a written cancellation letter addressed to the “Office of the Secretary” and that contributions to the NRA are neither refundable nor transferable. Putsch said he would request a refund on the grounds that the endorsement constituted a “breach of the contract.”

Xenophobic attacks

The video also includes repeated xenophobic attacks on Ramaswamy’s Indian heritage — rhetoric that has defined much of Putsch’s campaign and drawn criticism from multiple news outlets.

Ramaswamy was born and raised in Cincinnati to parents who immigrated legally from India. He attended public schools, graduated from Harvard and Yale Law School, and has lived in Ohio for most of his life. Despite these facts, Putsch repeatedly referred to him as a “foreign national” and an “anchor baby” throughout the video, attacked his Hindu faith, and directed derogatory comments at Indian immigrants more broadly.

The Dayton Daily News has characterized Putsch’s campaign messaging as carrying “an oft-racist, anti-immigration message.” NBC News reported in January that Putsch “constantly trolls Ramaswamy” on social media and has called him “an Indian Anchor baby,” a term NBC noted “is meant to undermine citizenship guaranteed to U.S.-born children of immigrants by the 14th Amendment.” In an interview with News 5 Cleveland and the Ohio Capital Journal, Putsch was also questioned about prior video comments regarding the Holocaust.

Putsch also referred to Ramaswamy as “Temu Obama” in the video, a term some of his supporters have used, and played side-by-side clips of Ramaswamy and former President Barack Obama that Putsch claimed showed Ramaswamy borrowing Obama’s rhetorical style.

Primary dynamics

Ramaswamy enters the final weeks of the primary as the dominant frontrunner. He holds endorsements from President Donald Trump, the Ohio Republican Party’s state central committee — which backed him in a 60-3 vote in May 2025 — the NRA-PVF, the Buckeye Firearms Association, and 10 major trade unions. His campaign reported raising nearly $20 million last year. Ohio Senate President Rob McColley is his running mate.

Putsch, whose running mate is conservative business executive Kim Georgeton, has built his campaign largely through social media and grassroots events in Northwest Ohio. He recently held a campaign event at a Toledo venue he billed as a “beer hall” gathering, which drew criticism over the name’s historical connotations given his surname.

A third Republican, Morgan County businesswoman Heather Hill, is also on the primary ballot. Hill has called Ramaswamy “an out-of-touch, billionaire scam artist” and criticized the state party for endorsing him before voters had a chance to weigh in.

On the Democratic side, Dr. Amy Acton, the former Ohio Department of Health director who rose to prominence during the COVID-19 pandemic, is running unopposed. Early polling has shown a competitive general election matchup between Ramaswamy and Acton.

Ohio’s Republican primary is open, meaning unaffiliated voters and members of either party may request a Republican ballot. The primary is May 5.