Cleveland – Biotechnology entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy, who will declare his candidacy for the governor of Ohio on Monday, wants to remodel public schools, reduce regulations and cut out the expense.
It is a disruptive agenda that looks a lot like that Ramasswamy helped prepare for the efficiency department of President Donald Trump, or Doge.
But in an interview with NBC News before the launch of his campaign, the former Republican presidential contender doubted when he faced that observation.
“There are many people anxious to make that analogy and characterization,” Ramasswamy said. “But I think I characterize my vision for Ohio expansively.”
Divorcation of the supply of Ramasswamy by the governor is, however, a complicated exercise. It was expected that Ramaswamy, 39, executes the Trump administration cost reduction initiative along with the multimillionaire technological magnate Elon Musk. He said that his decision to be set aside before Doge was officially in operation reflected an understanding that the work would prevent him from campaigning and the belief that it could be more useful for the cause at home in Ohio.
“President Trump, Elon and I had a great relationship, but we talked exactly where each of us was going to boost the maximum change for the country,” Ramaswamy said. “And, for me, I think that leading from the front here in Ohio and setting an example for the rest of the country and, frankly, even bringing some of the principles of efficiency and spending and deregulation to our state would be the way I, As a leader, he could have the greatest impact. “
The Ramasswamy association with Doge, and the general impulse of the Trump administration to reorient the federal government and reduce spending, could help it position it as an agent of change even when it extends to extend 16 years of control of the Republican Party in Ohio.
It could also be a responsibility. Ohio has a considerable number of federal employees, and there are concerns in the state about the future of the federal financing of Medicaid. In a recent CNN survey, 51% of respondents said they believe Trump has “too far” to reduce federal programs. (Another 32% said Trump “has been correct” and 17% said that “it has not gone far enough”).
“I think that the way we will do it in Ohio, the way we are going to direct the state, I think it will be very popular among all the parents and has a skin in the game for the game for the game for the game for the game For the next generation game, ”Ramasswamy said when asked if he was worried about political consequences.
Ramasswamy presented documents earlier this month to start raising money for the race and is expected to start a state advertisement tour on Monday night in Cincinnati. His long -awaited campaign has shaken the field of the Republican Party in the state of Buckeye, where Governor Mike Dewine, a Republican, is prohibited from looking for a third consecutive mandate.
Ohio’s attorney general, Dave Yost, entered the race earlier than expected, in mid -January, after Buzz’s first round about a Ramasswamy campaign. The state treasurer Robert Sprague, who had been preparing to run and initially pointed out that Ramaswamy’s plans would not affect his, gave his support to Ramasswamy this month and, on the other hand, launched an offer for the Secretary of State of Ohio.
Lieutenant Governor Jim Tressel, the former football coach of the state of Ohio who recently chose to be his deputy, has also caused speculations that he could seek the nomination of the Republican Party and has not ruled out the possibility.
‘Doge before Dege was great’
In previous campaigns, Yost, which served two periods like Ohio Auditor elected before his two terms as a attorney general, he ran under the slogan “Peace, Love and Delgated Government”. In an interview, Yost proclaimed that it was “Dege before Doge was great.”
“It is the difference between someone who can give a speech and someone who can do a job,” Yost said, contrasting with Ramasswamy. “Not to denigrate my own ability to give a speech, but the key is that I have been in the front line working for the objectives that Ohio share. I have been in the trenches fighting the battles against federal overreach, protecting the Constitution. And sincerely I think I am much better prepared to bring a bold leadership to Ohio. “
Yost, 68, added that he considered that Ramasswamy was a friend, but also characterized him as a changing fan who has trouble following his political commitments.
“He wanted, during the last year, to be president, to have a place in the cabinet, be co-leader of Doge,” said Yost. “The governor of Ohio is not a consolation prize. … My concern is that what seems to do better is to quit smoking. “
The nearby advisors of Vice President JD Vance, some of them with overlapping ties with Trump, signed last month to direct the effort of Ramasswamy and a aligned political organization. But while Ramasswamy has a national profile and a proximity to Trump’s world, he is still a political rookie and a stranger in a state in which career charges like Dewine and former Senator Sherrod Brown, a Democrat, had prospered for a long time Time, at least until Vance won a seat in the Senate in 2022 in his first race for office.
Internal surveys shared by Ramasswamy and Yost teams showed that both are popular among Republican voters in Ohio, while underlineing how Trump’s support could boost any of the candidates. But without a Trump support or other information about Ramasswamy or Yost in the questions, Ramasswamy directed both campaigns. ‘ center.
Ramasswamy declined to comment when asked how sure he was to receive Trump’s support. Yost said he hasn’t argued the race with Trump, but he hoped to have the conversation. It is dodged when asked if Trump’s support for Ramasswamy would alter his plans.
“I am the only person in the race who has had his support,” said Yost, referring to Trump’s support to his 2022 re -election campaign, “and I have very hopeful that he has it. So, the calculation is with his support, I will not only win, but I will win disappearing. ”
‘I’m not looking to fight anyone’
The presidential offer of Ramasswamy in 2024, which ended before the March Primary of Ohio, raised speculations that it could apply for a position in its native state. He had been floated as a perspective for the seat in the Vance Senate, but Dewine appointed his former governor, Jon Husted, to fill the vacancy, eliminating another possible rival of Ramasswamy of the Governor Campo.
Although he has never held an elected office, Ramasswamy has cultivated political relations in Ohio in recent years. Ramasswamy, a Cincinnati native who now lives in the Columbus area, served at the Innovateohio Board, an agency focused on the technology that Husted founded and led.
“Many of the things I aspired to achieve as president of the United States in reality in a more effectively “actively recruited” to handle for work. “I think Ohio has the potential to be the state that really leads the way in our national revival.”
While describing his vision, Ramasswamy changed among abstract objectives: “Domain of energy, mastery of manufacturing and domain of AI” and more specific policies proposals. He talked about eliminating the income tax of the State and shapting the education of K-12 by promoting education at home and instituting a merit-based payment system for public school teachers.
“Merit -based payment for teachers, payment based on merit for directors, administrators and superintendents,” Ramaswamy said. “The best teachers deserve to be paid much more than they are at this time, and yet they are not, because there is no meritocracy in compensation. That would make the state the magnet for the best educators throughout the country. “
The ideas of tax on income tax and merit are proposals that have emerged to some extent between the previous Republican governors or in a state legislature dominated by the Republican party, but they have never lawed. Teachers’ unions and other lobbying groups in Columbus, the state capital, have always been a barrier. Ramasswamy believes that the political climate is different now.
“I would tell you that it is a problem of union between parents, throughout the state,” he said. “My opinion is that I am not looking to fight with anyone. I am not going to look for a fight with teachers unions or anyone else. What I am going to defend is the achievement of our students. “
Ramasswamy added: “I don’t think a standard politician can do that job. I think he will take someone with fresh legs, a governor who is willing to boost a real change. I think that will require a leader for our moment that was a bit different from a traditional politician, and that is a great part of why they also call me this career. “
As for any future ambition of the White House that may have, Ramasswamy promised to serve at least a period of four years, which would take a race in 2028, and a possible primary clash with Vance, out of the table.
“I am completely committed to fulfilling a complete term,” Ramasswamy said. “It is my expectation that an agenda as ambitious as the one we are following will probably take two terms to be completely implemented.”
