The United States Pirate Party has endorsed Timothy Grady in his independent bid for Governor of Ohio in the 2026 election cycle following a unanimous vote of the Pirate National Committee.
In a statement published Tuesday, the PNC said members voted to back Grady’s campaign during their regular monthly meeting held over the weekend. Grady attended the session in person to discuss his platform as well as take questions from party members. The party has also pitched the recorded meeting as a chance for Ohio voters to hear directly from an independent candidate in the race.
While noting that Grady is not running as a proxy for the Ohio Pirate Party, and that there is an active state-level group not yet formally recognized by the national party, the statement praised Grady for his shared values with the Pirate Party surrounding transparency, individual-first governance, and open access to information.
“The 2026 election cycle will feature explicitly Pirate candidates, running as independents, DINOS/RINOS and explicitly as Pirates,” the statement reads. “While Timothy Grady is not one of those Pirate candidates, we are happy to throw our support towards a candidate who shares our values.”
Grady, a graduate student in public administration at Ohio State University’s John Glenn College and former chair of the Ohio Forward Party, launched his independent bid in June. He previously ran a largely satirical write-in campaign for the same office in 2022, earning more than 500 votes and, per local media, an endorsement from performance artist Vermin Supreme.
In July, Grady named Army veteran Andrea Neutzling of Meigs County as his running mate. Neutzling said at the time that her priorities include reforming the state’s education funding, expanding support for disabled veterans, and combating bullying in schools. She has also been active in military justice reform and veteran leadership circles.
As of this article, other declared candidates in the 2026 Ohio governor’s race include Republican entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy and Appalachian school board president Heather Hill, as well as Democrat Amy Acton, a former state health director. Independent Political Report is unaware of any other campaigns at this time, including write-in efforts.
To qualify for the ballot, Ohio independent gubernatorial tickets must collect 5,000 valid signatures and file nominating petitions by May 4, 2026. Grady’s campaign has said its ballot access efforts are actively underway.
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