COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — Trump-backed biotech billionaire Vivek Ramaswamy won the Ohio Republican Party’s gubernatorial endorsement Friday, overcoming more experienced and potentially more popular rivals to land coveted institutional and monetary support nearly a year before the 2026 primary.

The Ohio Republican Party has endorsed businessman Vivek Ramaswamy for governor. The Ohio GOP State Central Committee voted in favor of the Cincinnati entrepreneur.

The endorsement, approved by a supermajority of the Ohio GOP’s State Central Committee, came despite lobbying by Ramaswamy’s main primary opponent, Attorney General Dave Yost, and a last-minute hint by Lt. Gov. Jim Tressel that he might consider joining the race.