Ramaswamy cuts himself a $25M check for Ohio governor bid

Republican gubernatorial candidate Vivek Ramaswamy wrote his own campaign a $25 million check so far this year, accounting for roughly 83% of the $30 million his campaign has raised in 2026, according to a fundraising report first reported Tuesday by Fox News Digital.

The report, filed ahead of the May 5 primary, shows Ramaswamy has raised approximately $50 million in total since launching his campaign in February 2025, with $30 million in cash on hand as of the end of March. Of the $30 million raised in 2026, only $5 million came from outside donors — the remaining $25 million came from Ramaswamy himself, a biotech billionaire whose net worth has been estimated at roughly $1.8 billion.

A federal super PAC aligned with Ramaswamy has separately reported $29.5 million in fundraising this cycle, bringing the combined total behind his candidacy to roughly $80 million.

“No gubernatorial campaign in Ohio history has ever put up numbers like this, and it sends a clear message: Ohioans are fired up for Vivek, our campaign is growing, and we will win big in November,” Ramaswamy campaign manager Jonathan Ewing said in a statement to Fox News.

Ramaswamy’s campaign said 98% of individual contributions were $200 or less and that its 392,347 donations came from more than 120,000 unique donors, with an average contribution of $63. Those grassroots totals do not include the candidate’s own $25 million infusion.

Acton campaign points to grassroots haul

Democratic candidate Dr. Amy Acton’s campaign announced last week that it raised more than $9.3 million to date — what the campaign called “the most ever raised at this point in the calendar by a Democratic candidate for governor in the state’s history.” The campaign reported $4.8 million raised in the first quarter of 2026 alone, topping its entire 2025 total.

Acton’s campaign said 95% of Q1 contributions were $100 or less, that 66% of donations came from Ohio residents, and that the average grassroots donation was $29.

“He can continue throwing money at his campaign from the seat of his private jet, but Ohioans see right through his false promises,” Acton campaign manager Philip Stein said in a statement responding to Ramaswamy’s figures. Stein said Acton is “building a grassroots campaign powered by supporters from every corner of this state.”

The reference to a private jet tracks with an earlier Ohio Capital Journal analysis of Ramaswamy’s campaign spending, which identified a $300,000 private aircraft lease among his expenses.

Self-funding comes as tax plan would benefit Ramaswamy personally

Ramaswamy’s $25 million personal contribution coincides with a policy platform that would directly benefit his own finances. His April 6 filing with the Ohio Ethics Commission disclosed $768,968 in capital gains from a single BlackBerry stock sale in 2025, alongside tens of millions of dollars in other stock, fund, and equity holdings.

Ramaswamy has proposed phasing out Ohio’s income tax beginning with the capital gains tax — a change that the Ohio Legislative Service Commission has estimated would cost the state between $615 million and $645 million per year, with nearly 82% of the benefit flowing to Ohioans earning more than $200,000 annually.

A separate analysis from Innovation Ohio has estimated that his proposal to roll property taxes back to 2021 levels would cut roughly $6.6 billion per year from Ohio local budgets, including approximately $4 billion annually from school districts.

Cook rates race ‘Lean Republican’ after March downgrade

The Cook Political Report currently rates the general election race “Lean Republican” — one step from toss-up — after downgrading it in March from “Likely Republican.” Cook analyst Matthew Klein cited Ramaswamy’s “baggage” and polling showing him trailing Acton, including a Quantus Insights survey conducted by a Republican-aligned firm.

Sabato’s Crystal Ball moved the race to “Lean Republican” the same week.

Ramaswamy launched a $10 million ad buy in March and has pledged to keep advertising through Election Day. His campaign said he will headline a Columbus fundraiser Thursday that is expected to raise more than $1 million.

The Ohio primary is May 5. The general election is November 3.