COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — Republican Vivek Ramaswamy’s expected run for Ohio governor continued to reshape the 2026 election on Wednesday, as two-term state Treasurer Robert Sprague dropped his bid for the job to run for secretary of state.

Sprague, 51, said on X that he would put his “full support” behind any gubernatorial bid by Ramaswamy.

Ramaswamy, 39, is a Cincinnati-born biotech entrepreneur who made an unsuccessful bid for the GOP’s 2024 presidential nomination. He served a brief stint recently co-leading Republican President Donald Trump’s government cost-cutting initiative, dubbed the Department of Government Efficiency.

“Ohio’s not broken, but there are things in Columbus that need to be fixed,” Sprague said in a video endorsement. He said Ramaswamy’s “outsider mentality” makes him best positioned to pursue such reforms as fully eliminating the state income tax and rewriting state energy policy tainted by special interests.

In backing Ramaswamy, Sprague effectively side-stepped Attorney General Dave Yost, his fellow Republican statewide officeholder, who has already announced a bid to succeed term-limited Republican Gov. Mike DeWine next year.

His shift to a different race set up a two-, if not three-way GOP primary for secretary of state, where former state Sen. Niraj Antani is already a candidate and state Sen. Theresa Gavarone is widely expected to join soon. Dr. Bryan Hambley, an oncologist from Warren County, northeast of Cincinnati, is running on the Democratic side.

The winner would succeed Republican Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose, who is term-limited in 2026.

Sprague, a former state lawmaker and county official, promised to work to keep Ohio’s elections safe, trusted and protected, if elected.

“For the past six years, the people of Ohio have entrusted me to be a responsible steward of their tax dollars, and today I am asking them to put their trust in me to protect their sacred vote,” he said in announcing his candidacy.

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