Not that there was any doubt, but the Ohio Republican Party’s unprecedented endorsement of Vivek Ramaswamy for governor about a year before the primary shows that President Donald Trump has total control over the state GOP.

The president strongly backs Ramaswamy’s campaign for governor. When the wealthy biotech entrepreneur officially declared his candidacy on Feb. 24, Trump wasted no time in enthusiastically endorsing him.

Trump’s endorsement carries more weight in Ohio politics than anything else — and his influence with the state Republican Party is second to nobody.

That includes Gov. Mike DeWine, who unsuccessfully tried to stop the party from endorsing his successor this early.

The party has moved away from DeWine in recent years though not as severely as it did when it distanced itself from John Kasich, DeWine’s predecessor as governor and a Trump critic. While DeWine isn’t tight with Trump, he is typically careful not to criticize the president.

DeWine urged the Republican Party’s state central committee to hold off on endorsing in the gubernatorial primary as the members were definitely going to back Ramaswamy if it moved forward.

When I asked DeWine about the endorsement the day before it occurred, he told me: “It’s just early. I mean it’s just very, very early. This would be an unprecedented endorsement being this early. This is an endorsement that is a year away from the primary, let alone from the general election. We don’t really know who’s going to be in this race yet for governor.”

DeWine wants Jim Tressel, who he appointed Feb. 10 as his lieutenant governor, to succeed him. But the former Youngstown State University president — who is best known as the head football coach at The Ohio State University and YSU — hasn’t committed to seeking the office.

DeWine said of Tressel: “I think he could serve exceedingly well as governor or I wouldn’t have appointed him as lieutenant governor.”

Early polling has Ramaswamy with a large lead in the Republican primary for governor in 2026.

The party’s endorsement makes it much harder for anyone to successfully challenge him.

While Tressel is undecided about governor, Attorney General Dave Yost is a candidate.

The endorsement is a huge blow to Yost.

After the party vote, Emily Hottinger, Yost’s campaign manager, said: “The attorney general is going to take a few days to consult with key supporters about the path forward — but the people of

Ohio deserve a choice, not a premature coronation of an untested candidate.”

While in Warren on April 22, Yost said he had no plans to quit the gubernatorial race and was holding out hope Trump would back him just like he’s already done for Ramaswamy. That is improbable.

Yost told me he was planning to retire after his attorney general term ended but was “encouraged by people to offer an alternative” for governor.

The Republican vote in favor of endorsing was 51-13. When the party’s state central committee voted on who to endorse, Ramaswamy won 60-3 with one abstention.

One deeply disturbing decision was for the Republican committee members to debate and vote away from the public. It harkens back to the days of smoke-filled rooms in which political decisions were made in secret.

Two days before the vote, Donald Trump Jr., the president’s son, urged the state party to endorse Ramaswamy.

Right before the vote, Lara Trump, a former co-chair of the Republican National Committee and the president’s daughter-in-law, spoke by phone urging the state Republicans to “unite, unite, unite.” She didn’t mention Ramaswamy’s name. She didn’t have to. The message was clear.

The endorsement is for the May 5, 2026, Republican primary. This was the earliest the state Republican Party ever endorsed a nonincumbent for governor — nearly a year before the primary.

It shows how much influence Trump has over Ohio Republicans, and it’s easy to see why.

Trump is the only Republican to win the presidency in Ohio in three consecutive elections and his endorsements of J.D. Vance in 2022 and Bernie Moreno in 2024 for seats in the U.S. Senate sealed victories for both of them.

Trump is endorsing Jon Husted, the former lieutenant governor appointed in January by DeWine to succeed Vance, in next year’s Senate race. Husted was unlikely to face a serious Republican primary challenger before the endorsement. It’s a guarantee he won’t with the endorsement.

The party’s endorsement for Ramaswamy comes with benefits. The largest one is he has access to party infrastructure and doesn’t have to work outside the confines of the establishment.

Some have noted that Ramaswamy will be able to raise money easier now that he is the party’s endorsed candidate. That ignores the fact that Ramaswamy is, by far, the richest candidate to ever run for governor and could easily self-fund his campaign without blinking an eye.

David Skolnick covers politics for the Tribune Chronicle and The Vindicator.