A political fight inside Ohio’s Republican Party involved a religious dynamic after Vivek Ramaswamy’s rival, Casey Putsch, launched multiple attacks at the Indian-origin leader, saying Ramaswamy works with the “anti-Christ” and repeatedly calling out his Hindu faith.
In a post on X, Putsch accused Ramaswamy of being backed by a “major christian organization” despite Ramaswamy being “a Hindu man”. Putsch listed a series of allegations against the Indian-American GOP leader.
Among the claims, Putsch wrote that Ramaswamy “looks down on Americans”, is “facing RICO charges," made millions while investors lost money through alleged fraud, and that his bodyguard had been arrested for drug trafficking earlier this month.
Putsch also alleged that Ramaswamy “has done nothing for Ohio people," while simultaneously promoting himself and asking for votes.
No evidence was provided in the post to support the claims.
Recently, I was told that a MAJOR CHRISTIAN organization is completely backing Vivek who is…a HINDU man! (Read that again slowly)
Looks down on Americans
Is facing RICO charges (with “anti-Christ man”, Peter Thiel)
Made millions while investors lost it all
Bodyguard arrested… pic.twitter.com/zdW8IvgZIK
— Casey Putsch (@CaseyPutsch) January 26, 2026
Putsch accused the Christian investor backing Ramaswamy of attacking him personally. He said a campaign had begun in which he, a Christian, was being called an atheist while running against a "Hindu and Jewish opponent." “Could this be more EVIL?” he wrote.
Ramaswamy is a former 2024 Republican presidential candidate and is now running for Ohio governor in the 2026 election, which is due this November. He has strong backing from US President Donald Trump.
Putsch is a Northwest Ohio business owner who has positioned himself as a grassroots, hard-line “America First” challenger.
Earlier, Putsch mocked Ramaswamy for deleting social media apps, claiming he was avoiding criticism and racist abuse. He has also accused Ramaswamy of hypocrisy for accepting a $50,000 Soros Fellowship for New Americans, while earning much more than that, and also for later campaigning against identity-based politics, calling it “fraud”. Ramaswamy has defended the scholarship as merit-based.
Vivek Ramaswamy’s biotech company, Axovant (a Roivant spinoff), bought a discarded Alzheimer’s drug and took it public at about $2.2 billion few years ago. When the drug failed in trials and the stock collapsed, Ramaswamy had already sold shares and reported high income. This led investors to lose money at the cost of Vivek getting rich. It was described as a "pump-and-dump" move by many.
Democrats have prepared their own candidate, former health director Dr Amy Acton, for a gubernatorial bid in Ohio.
