Gov. DeWine was the guest at last week’s Columbus Metropolitan Club forum.
By: Megan Henry
May 26, 2026
Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine reflected on his time in office, shared plans for his life post-politics, and briefly discussed the current governor’s race during a recent forum.
DeWine was the guest at last week’s Columbus Metropolitan Club forum that was moderated by Ohio Public Radio and TV reporter Jo Ingles. DeWine, who is term-limited, has about 230 days left as Ohio’s governor.
“Part of what I’m trying to do in the last 235 days is to finish your work,” he said. “Work is never done.”
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DeWine endorsed Republican Vivek Ramaswamy for governor earlier this year, despite working alongside the Democratic candidate Amy Acton when she was the director of the state health department.
“It’s clear where I stand,” DeWine said. “I’m a Republican. I’m for the Republican nominee. The Republican nominee is Vivek Ramaswamy.”
DeWine said he has had many discussions with Ramaswamy, who said earlier this year he wants to consolidate Ohio colleges and universities — saying “We have too many of them.”
“When you ask him one of the most important things you want to do, (Ramaswamy’s) answer is to grow jobs, bring companies in, and second, make sure that we have educated people,” DeWine said. “We should not mistake governing for the campaign.”
Despite DeWine’s loyalty to the Republican Party, he has disagreed with President Donald Trump over issues including Haitian immigrants, the Jan. 6 Capitol attack, and the 2020 election.
“The job of the governor is to be the governor of the people of the state of Ohio,” DeWine said when asked why is not more critical of Trump.
“I cannot wake up every morning and think … what did the president do? … My job is to focus on the people of Ohio, and what I can actually do, and what I can accomplish.”
On the topic of state politics, DeWine signed a bill into law in 2023 that requires citizens to show photo identification before voting, but stopped short of endorsing a constitutional amendment Ohio Republicans are trying to put on the ballot.
“I haven’t seen the final language on it,” he said.
DeWine has been saying for months he will make an announcement about Ohio’s death penalty and hinted during the forum that it will be coming soon. The last person to be executed in Ohio was in 2018, shortly before DeWine took office in 2019.
“I don’t want to build this up because I’m going to do it shortly, and I think there’s been a lot of hype about this, but there really shouldn’t be,” DeWine said. “It’ll simply be Mike DeWine reflecting on the death penalty.”
Thinking back on his time in office, DeWine said his “biggest mistake” was signing the gambling bill into law in December 2021.
“What I did not anticipate — and I should have — is the massive, massive amount of money that these gambling companies would come in … and they flood the airways,” he said.
More Ohioans are gambling and losing money, and athletes are being abused online as a result of sports betting, DeWine said.
He said the most important work he has done is focus on Ohio’s children — specifically through the Dolly Parton Imagination Library program, requiring Ohio schools to teach the science of reading curriculum, and creating the Ohio Student Eye Exam (OhioSee) program that provides students in kindergarten through third grade comprehensive eye exams and glasses at schools.
“If we’re serious about reading, if we’re serious about early childhood development, what we call Ohio See, I hope the next governor will take OhioSee … and run with that,” DeWine said.
DeWine, who will turn 80 the week he leaves office in January, plans to spend more time with his 28 grandchildren after his term expires. He said is going to set up a center at his alma mater Miami University.
“We’re not sure exactly what, but we think it’s going to be a focus on children,” said DeWine, who graduated with a degree in education. “One thing I would like to do is to help social studies teachers.”
