Vivek Ramaswamy’s campaign for Ohio governor is actively promoting the endorsement of a state lawmaker who was accused of sexual misconduct with a minor female relative — and whose behavior was described as “concerning and suspicious” by the prosecutor who reviewed the state investigation.

State Rep. Rodney Creech (R-West Alexandria) is featured prominently on Ramaswamy’s official campaign website in an April 2025 press release touting endorsements from 38 Ohio House Republicans. The page remains live as of publication — months after the allegations against Creech became public and prompted House Speaker Matt Huffman to strip his committee assignments and ask him to resign.

The relationship between the two men predates the formal endorsement. Creech attended Ramaswamy’s gubernatorial campaign launch and has been pictured at political events with Ramaswamy even before Ramaswamy announced his run for governor.

Less than a month after Creech’s endorsement appeared on the Ramaswamy campaign website on April 16, 2025 — more than a year before the May 5, 2026 primary — the allegations against him became public.

Ramaswamy’s campaign has not publicly addressed the Creech endorsement since the allegations surfaced. It has not removed his name from the campaign website.

The allegations

In 2023, a minor female relative accused Creech of climbing into bed and under the covers with her while erect and wearing only his underwear, according to Bureau of Criminal Investigation documents obtained by the Statehouse News Bureau. Text messages showed the minor complaining that Creech had been rubbing her legs and grabbing her waist and that she was “put to tears” from being so uncomfortable around him, according to NBC4.

Creech told investigators he had gotten into bed with the minor in his underwear but denied the sexual nature of the allegations. Clark County Prosecutor Daniel Driscoll, brought in as a special prosecutor after local officials recused themselves due to personal relationships with Creech, declined to file charges but wrote that Creech’s “behavior during the time of the investigation was concerning and suspicious.”

Creech has called the allegations “demonstrably false.” No charges were filed.

Stripped, reinstated, endorsed

In May 2025, Ohio House Speaker Matt Huffman (R-Lima) stripped Creech of all four committee assignments — including his chairmanship of the House Agriculture Committee — and asked him to resign, telling the Statehouse News Bureau he did not believe Creech “could fill out his duties effectively as a legislator.”

Creech did not resign. In February 2026, Huffman reinstated him to his committees, signed a letter requesting the Ohio Republican Party endorse Creech for re-election, and the party obliged. Creech’s name has remained on Ramaswamy’s endorsement page throughout.

Creech is currently seeking re-election to Ohio House District 40 in the May 5 Republican primary, where he faces former state Rep. J. Todd Smith and Lew Lainhart. The Ohio Republican Party has officially endorsed him for re-election.

Among the other names on Ramaswamy’s endorsement list: Rep. Phil Plummer (R-Dayton), who was interviewed during the BCI investigation into Creech and told investigators Creech’s comments about the allegations were “disgusting and uncalled for,” according to previous reporting.

Separately, Epstein-connected money in Ramaswamy’s orbit

The Creech endorsement is unrelated to Jeffrey Epstein. But Ramaswamy’s political operation has separately faced scrutiny over financial ties to individuals connected to the convicted sex offender.

During Ramaswamy’s 2024 presidential campaign, his Super PAC — the American Exceptionalism PAC — accepted a $100,000 donation from Glenn Dubin, a New York billionaire hedge fund manager named in court documents as an Epstein associate. An Epstein victim testified that Ghislaine Maxwell had sent her to Dubin for sex, according to Fox News. Dubin has denied the allegations.

After public pressure, Ramaswamy’s campaign donated the $6,600 it received directly from Dubin to organizations fighting sex trafficking. The Super PAC pledged to return the $100,000 — but the PAC dissolved without doing so, according to federal filings.

More recently, Ramaswamy’s running mate, Ohio Senate President Rob McColley (R-Napoleon), received a $5,000 donation from L Brands founder Les Wexner in 2024, according to Ohio Secretary of State finance records. Unredacted FBI documents label Wexner an alleged Epstein “co-conspirator,” though he has not been charged and his legal team has said the characterization is inaccurate. McColley initially told the Statehouse News Bureau that members of his caucus “can make their own decision” about Wexner donations. He subsequently donated the money to charity.

TiffinOhio.net reached out to the Ramaswamy campaign for comment. No response was received prior to publication.