Former Ohio State football coach Jim Tressel, a political rookie, decides not to run for governor

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COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — Former Ohio State football coach and current Lt. Gov. Jim Tressel said Friday he won’t run for Ohio governor in 2026, easing the path toward a Republican nomination for biotech entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy.

A gubernatorial bid by Tressel on the GOP side could have shaken up a race that many have seen as a shoe-in for the Cincinnati-born Ramaswamy, who has been endorsed by President Donald Trump and the Ohio Republican Party.

Term-limited Republican Gov. Mike DeWine chose Tressel, 72, as his lieutenant governor to fill a vacant role in February. Though Tressel was a political newcomer, he has lots of prior leadership experience as a championship-winning college football coach and as an administrator in higher education — plus star power among the state’s many Buckeyes football fans.

“I believe that our crucial opportunities in the areas of education and workforce deserve my full attention for the remainder of our term,” Tressel said in a statement.

Two other candidates who previously said they were in the Republican race have altered course. State Attorney General Dave Yost suspended his campaign in May, and Appalachian entrepreneur Heather Hill recently said on social media that she is leaving the Republican Party but plans to continue her gubernatorial bid as an independent or third-party candidate.

Amy Acton, who led Ohio’s health department early in the COVID-19 pandemic, is running as a Democrat. Ohio State University master’s student Timothy Grady is running as an independent.

Former Lt. Gov. Jon Husted had long been viewed as the front-runner to be Ohio’s next governor, but he took an appointment to fill the remainder of JD Vance’s U.S. Senate term when Vance was elected to be vice president. Tressel was chosen by DeWine and confirmed by lawmakers to succeed Husted, who has pledged to run for Senate rather than governor next year.

Former Democratic U.S. Rep. Tim Ryan, who made a strong bid for U.S. Senate in 2024, had said he would not seek the governorship if Tressel ran. Ryan played football for Tressel at Youngstown State and considers him a mentor.