Ohio Republican gubernatorial candidate Vivek Ramaswamy has President Donald Trump in his corner, and his big vision to take the state to the “next level” is rife with plans to invigorate education, tap into energy potential and home in on the American Dream.
“People talk about the Rust Belt. I don’t want to talk about the Rust Belt. I want to lead us to the platinum belt,” the former 2024 presidential candidate told Maria Bartiromo on “Sunday Morning Futures.” “The sectors of the future, from semiconductors to nuclear energy to even AI, and the way I think about this, as if Silicon Valley led the way in the American economy for the last ten years, I want to make sure it’s the Ohio River Valley for the next ten years, and that’s my vision for taking the state to the next level.”
Trump made a pair of key endorsements for the 2026 gubernatorial races with Ramaswamy in Ohio and Rep. Byron Donalds in Florida as both states’ governors — Republicans Mike DeWine and Ron DeSantis, respectively — are slated to term out after next year.
SENATORS BACK VIVEK RAMASWAMY FOR OHIO GOVERNOR AHEAD OF EXPECTED GUBERNATORIAL BID
Vivek Ramaswamy speaks before Republican presidential nominee, former U.S. President Donald Trump, takes the stage at the campaign rally at Madison Square Garden on October 27, 2024 in New York City. (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)
Ramaswamy announced his bid to take DeWine’s place in the governor’s mansion during a rally in his hometown of Cincinnati last month.
The 39-year-old Trump ally recently secured separate endorsements from the president and billionaire entrepreneur Elon Musk, who now leads the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) that Ramaswamy was once slated to co-lead with him, but he exited before Trump’s inauguration in January.
TRUMP, MUSK ENDORSE VIVEK RAMASWAMY FOR OHIO GOVERNOR
Vivek Ramaswamy earned President Trump’s endorsement for the 2026 Ohio gubernatorial race. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
If elected, Ramaswamy’s plans for the Buckeye State include embracing the “drill baby drill” message to accommodate the increasingly-demanding age of AI data centers, focusing on “merit-based pay” for employees in the education realm, taking school choice to the “next level” with emphasis on school choice and helping students excel in reading, writing and math to set a new “national standard” for education.
“I want to lead Ohio to be the best state in the nation, to generate wealth and to raise a young family, and to give your kids a world-class education,” he said. “I want to turn our state into a kind of special economic region at the heart of the country, free of red tape, free of bureaucracy. The state where the American dream is actually the birthright for our children.”
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Fox News’ Landon Mion contributed to this report
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