Jim Tressel, the former Ohio State University football coach who became Ohio’s lieutenant governor earlier this year, announced Friday he will not run for governor.
Tressel’s potential political plans had been subject to speculation after Gov. Mike DeWine chose him as his new lieutenant governor earlier this year. Tressel was something of a surprise pick for DeWine, as he'd run for office and had never stated he had ambitions to do so.
Tressel referenced his wife Ellen in a statement Friday on X, writing that he has been honored to serve with DeWine and First Lady Fran DeWine.
“After considerable thought and prayer, we have decided not to run for governor in 2026,” Tressel wrote.
For months Tressel, who remains popular years after Ohio State’s national championship win in 2002, didn't say he was running, but he didn’t firmly shut the door. Tressel said in May he hadn’t ruled it out, but a few days later, after the Ohio Republican Party endorsed Vivek Ramaswamy, Tressel was asked if it was unlikely that he’d run.
“I don't know if I would say that or I if you would have asked. Is it likely? I probably wouldn't say that either," Tressel told reporters then. "So I just think we're studying.”
Tressel's statement on X continues: “I believe that our crucial opportunities in the area of education and workforce deserve my full attention for the remainder of our term. My goal is to help finish the amazing work started by the DeWine-Husted administration.” He also promoted his Team Tressel Fitness Challenge, which he launched last month.
His shoutout to Husted could be significant.
DeWine selected the former lieutenant governor to fill Vice President JD Vance’s seat in the U.S. Senate earlier this year, and Husted is scheduled for an event next week with tech billionaire Vivek Ramaswamy. Ramaswamy got the Ohio GOP’s early endorsement for governor in April, and now stands alone in the race to be the party’s nominee.
The only Democrat in the race so far is Dr. Amy Acton, DeWine’s former director of the Ohio Department of Health during the COVID-19 pandemic. Acton resigned in June 2020. In an interview with the Statehouse News Bureau in February, she said she left in a dispute over pandemic-related orders from GOP lawmakers who disagreed with her over COVID shutdowns and limitations.
