OAN Staff Abril Elfi
2:08 PM – Monday, February 10, 2025
Former Ohio State University football coach Jim Tressel has been nominated to be the state’s lieutenant governor.
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Following the departure of Republican Jon Husted in the U.S. Senate, Governor Mike DeWine (R-Ohio.) Tressel, 72, stated at a press conference that he would fill the vacancy left by Husted for the remaining two years of the term.
“He has the requisite skill sets. He has the criteria that I outlined. He knows Ohio,” DeWine said. “Jim Tressel, I trust his judgment. He is a born leader.”
Tressel had previously mentioned a potential Senate run following Republican Rob Portman’s retirement in 2021. However, he will now have a better chance in the 2026 Ohio gubernatorial race with DeWine being term-limited.
In addition to the 2002 national championship, in which Ohio State defeated the Miami Hurricanes in the Fiesta Bowl, finishing up a 14-0 season — Tressel’s Buckeyes team won or shared seven Big Ten championships and advanced to two more title games under the Bowl Championship Series.
However, Tressel was also forced to quit prior to the 2011 season. He admitted knowing about NCAA rules breaches by some of his athletes who had illegally traded jerseys, as well as other team merchandise and paraphernalia, in return for free tattoos from a Columbus shop.
The Justice Department and FBI discovered what eventually became known as “Tattoogate” as part of a probe of the proprietor of Fine Line Ink Tattoos and Piercings, Edward Rife, who had been laundering money made from trafficking marijuana through his business.
Tressel’s nomination for the lieutenant governor slot will need to be approved by the Ohio state House and Senate. Former 2024 GOP presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy, Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost, and state Treasurer Robert Sprague are also expected to run for their party’s gubernatorial nomination.
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