Rob McColley seeks lieutenant governor on Ramaswamy ticket

Robert McColley, president of the Ohio Senate, is running for lieutenant governor as Vivek Ramaswamy's running mate on Tuesday, Nov. 3. NBC News first reported that Ramaswamy selected McColley on Jan. 6.

McColley, a Republican, faces Democrat David Pepper and Libertarian James L. Mills, according to BallotReady election data. The race will appear on ballots across Hamilton County, including in Anderson Township, Mariemont and Terrace Park.

Candidate information

Full name: Robert McColley
Party: Republican
Date of birth: Oct. 14, 1984
Hometown: Napoleon, Ohio
Family: Wife Denise, daughter Anna and twin sons Matthew and Michael
Education: Bachelor's degree in finance, The Ohio State University (2007); law degree, University of Toledo (2010)
Faith: Christian, per the campaign website

Experience and public service

McColley has held office since 2015. He represented District 81 in the Ohio House, where he served as assistant majority whip in 2016–2017. He moved to the Ohio Senate representing District 1 in 2017 and rose to majority leader from 2023 to 2025 before becoming president of the Ohio Senate in 2025.

Outside the Statehouse, McColley worked as an associate attorney at Hyre Legal Group from 2010 to 2011, then at Leatherman & Witzler from 2012 to 2013, according to BallotReady. He served as economic development director at the Henry County Community Improvement Corporation from 2013 to 2014. He serves as of counsel at Clemens, Korhn, Liming & Warncke, according to BallotReady.

On the issues

The following positions come from the Ramaswamy-McColley campaign platform and reflect the candidates' stated goals, not independently verified commitments.

Property taxes and income tax: The campaign says it would slash property taxes to protect families, seniors and homeowners. It also calls for phasing out the state income tax, starting with eliminating capital gains taxes.

Education: The ticket says it would raise academic standards with a focus on third-grade literacy, eighth-grade numeracy and 12th-grade civics. The campaign also calls for expanding career-technical education and apprenticeships, rewarding top teachers with higher pay and empowering parents with transparency and choices over where their children learn.

Energy: The campaign says it would expand natural gas and deploy new energy technologies to reduce electric bills. It calls for streamlining energy project permits and removing regulations it describes as unnecessary.

Public safety: The campaign says it would enforce stricter bail and sentencing for repeat violent offenders and empower local police and sheriffs. It also calls for addressing severe psychiatric illness so officers can focus on crime.

Economy: The ticket says it would reduce regulations that drive up costs and stall business growth, and create more paths to homeownership and entrepreneurship by lowering the cost of living.