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Ethics complaint filed against Vivek Ramaswamy campaign spending
Ohio law requires campaigns to itemize expenditures exceeding $25.
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Malvika Choudhary - Fri, 10, Jul 2026
- 13:52 EDT
- 65
Vivek Ramaswamy / Wikimedia commons
An Ohio lawmaker filed an ethics complaint against Republican gubernatorial candidate Vivek Ramaswamy's campaign over more than $500,000 in campaign credit card spending.
The complaint, filed July 8 by Ohio State Sen. Kent Smith, a Democrat from Euclid, alleges that Ramaswamy's campaign violated Ohio campaign finance laws by failing to disclose details of hundreds of thousands of dollars in expenditures.
Also Read: Vivek Ramaswamy marks US 250th with son's birthday celebration
It also names Ramaswamy's running mate, Ohio Senate President Rob McColley.
Under Ohio campaign finance law, campaigns must disclose the amount, recipient and purpose of every expenditure exceeding $25.
According to the complaint, Ramaswamy's campaign reported $509,473.01 in payments to American Express between April 2025 and June 2026 simply as "credit card payments," without identifying the underlying expenses.
Smith argued the filings fail to meet the specificity required under state law because the payments could represent any number of purchases.
"While initially that may be proper for them to submit it that way, at some point, eventually, they need to identify any and all of those (expenses)," Phil Richter, former executive director of the Ohio Elections Commission, told NBC4.
"I would like to think that an experienced campaign manager would certainly understand campaign finance filings and the need–or certainly at least the campaign treasurer–should realize that while they can initially file a report that just kind of lays out, 'OK, we had all these expenses,' eventually you've got to submit that information to the secretary's office to clarify what it is that those expenses were," Richter said.
Responding to the complaint, Democratic Governors Association spokesperson Izzi Levy accused Ramaswamy of breaking the law.
"Vivek Ramaswamy will take every chance he gets to pull a fast one on Ohioans—even if it means breaking the law to avoid showing how he's spending his campaign dollars," Levy said. "Why would anyone ever trust this scammer anywhere near the governor's office?"
The complaint asks state officials to review whether the campaign's reporting complied with Ohio's campaign finance disclosure requirements.
As of July 10, neither the Ohio Secretary of State's office nor the Ohio Elections Commission has publicly ruled on the allegations, and Ramaswamy's campaign has not publicly responded.
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