On May 4, Republican candidate Vivek Ramaswamy received a standing ovation from about 150 people as he took the stage at a town hall meeting in Delaware County, just north of Columbus.
If Ramaswamy wins the May 5 primary, he becomes the Republican nominee to face off against Dr. Amy Acton, a Democrat and the state’s former health director, in the Nov. 3 general election. She has no opponent in the primary.
The current governor, Republican Mike DeWine, is serving his second term—the maximum allowed under Ohio law. Therefore, he was barred from running for reelection.
The governor has praised Acton for her work in his administration during the COVID-19 pandemic, but he endorsed his fellow Republican Ramaswamy. President Donald Trump has also endorsed Ramaswamy.
Ramaswamy, a self-made billionaire whose parents were immigrants from India, told the audience that neither fame nor fortune is motivating his gubernatorial run.
“There are other ways to acquire those things,” he said.
Rather, Ramaswamy said he wants to reinvigorate the American dream for Ohioans.
“My family has been blessed at a scale that my parents would have never imagined,” he said. “That story is only possible in the United States of America—the greatest country, I believe, known to the history of humankind.”
Ramaswamy said he feels a moral obligation to use his talents to improve society and to leave a better future for his children and for all Ohioans.
One attendee asked what Ramaswamy intended to do about people who defraud government programs such as Medicaid. Ramaswamy noted new reports alleging massive fraud in Ohio, following documented large-scale fraud in Minnesota and California.
If elected governor, Ramaswamy said, he would push “to enforce the laws that are already on the books,” rather than advocating for new laws. He would also insist upon stringent prosecution.
“If you’re committing fraud on our government, you’re a criminal. You'll be prosecuted—and that money is going back into the pockets of our citizens,” he said, drawing a long round of applause.
In response to a citizen’s concerns about taxes and fees, Ramaswamy said: “When you vote for me ...you’re voting for lower income taxes, lower property taxes, lower size of government, and therefore lower forms of taxation and regulation of every form.”
During Ramaswamy’s hour-long appearance at COhatch Polaris, a workspace that many start-up businesses share, neither the candidate nor questioners from the audience mentioned his Republican opponent.
