Ohio Republicans may have jumped the gun a bit with the endorsement of Vivek Ramaswamy for governor a year before the 2026 primary election.

This move comes despite members of the State Central Committee not even knowing yet who might enter the race.

Lt. Gov. Jim Tressel says he is considering a bid for governor. Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost has already made his intentions clear.

Why the rush?

We don’t know, of course. The meeting during which the decision was made happened behind closed doors. But just ahead of that meeting, Donald Trump Jr. leaned on committee members.

“I understand that early endorsements aren’t the norm, but these are not ordinary times,” he wrote. “We have a country to save. …”

Laura Trump weighed in as well.

She called in to open the committee’s meeting and reminded members that the GOP’s motto is “Unite, unite, unite!”

Other candidates may now feel frozen out of the process. That is a shame, as surely Ramaswamy and the others have a right to a vigorous primary campaign filled with important debate and discussion about Ohio’s future.