Ohio Governor’s Race Heats Up with Running Mate Picks

01/07/26

The 2026 election year has officially kicked off, and today the leading candidates running to be Ohio's next Governor announced their running mates, who would serve as Lieutenant Governor.

Republican Vivek Ramaswamy has selected current Ohio Senate President Rob McColley (R-Napoleon) from northwest Ohio to join him on the ticket. McColley, who has served in the Ohio legislature since 2015, is term-limited in the Senate. Prior to his Senate tenure, McColley had served as a State Representative in the House before being appointed to the vacant Senate seat. He is an attorney and has a strong reputation as an effective legislator having served in leadership positions in both chambers before his unanimous, bipartisan election as Senate President last year. He is also widely considered a pro-business legislator and is a longtime friend of the industry.

In a statement today, Ramaswamy highlighted that his entrepreneurial background and outsider perspective will be well-complimented by McColley's expertise to help push his policy agenda should they win in November. McColley's official biography can be found HERE.

Democrat Amy Acton has selected former Ohio Democratic Party (ODP) Chairman David Pepper (D-Cincinnati) as her running mate. Pepper - also an attorney - is a former Cincinnati City Councilman and Hamilton County Commissioner. He served as Chair of the ODP from 2015 - 2020. Notably, Pepper is the only individual from both tickets who has run for statewide office before - in 2010, he lost an open seat race for State Auditor to current Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost, and in 2014, he lost to then-incumbent Attorney General and current Governor Mike DeWine. Pepper is also the son of former Proctor & Gamble CEO John Pepper Jr. and is an author of both fiction novels and nonfiction political commentary books.

Pepper was widely speculated to be Acton's choice leading up to today's announcement, as he has publicly supported Acton since her tenure as Ohio Health Director during the 2020 pandemic. In a statement following the campaign's announcement, Pepper prioritized tackling the affordability crisis and lowering costs, tackling corruption, and investing in our public schools. He is a current senior fellow at the Charles F. Kettering Foundation, a policy think tank, and his biography can be found HERE.

We are entering a busy month for Ohio political news. The campaign finance reporting deadline is the end of January, where all Ohio state-level candidates must post their fundraising totals for the second half of 2025. This will be followed by the February 4 candidate filing deadline, after which we will have the full roster of candidates officially running for state offices.

Ohio BankPac is hosting a virtual Election Update for donors on Thursday, February 12 @ 12PM where we will cover the major political news and trends heading into the Primary Election in May. BankPac is OBL's tool to engage in industry advocacy on the political side of Government Relations. A strong BankPac makes OBL a stronger advocate for Ohio banks.

If you are interested in learning more about supporting BankPac and receiving an invitation to this call, contact Manager of Government Relations & BankPac Anthony Lagunzad at [email protected].