Ramaswamy Fights ‘Elite’ Label in Close Race for Ohio Governor

It has been 20 years since a Democrat has been elected governor in Ohio, a state President Trump won the past three presidential elections, but Vivek Ramaswamy’s campaign is struggling in the race to replace term-limited Governor Mike DeWine. The latest Bowling Green University poll has him losing by three points to Democrat Dr. Amy Acton in the November election. Political commentator Larry Sabato’s Crystal Ball has moved the race rating to “toss-up” from “leans Republican.”Republican candidates in much of the country are facing a tough election season but Mr. Ramaswamy is facing some unique challenges. His wealth — he is an Ivy League educated billionaire — may be hurting him with working class families who say they are struggling to make ends meet. A big issue for his campaign is that many Trump voters don’t connect with him.A focus group the Bulkwark put together earlier this year included MAGA Republicans offering harsh assessments of Mr. Ramaswamy — even ones who said they would vote for him.“He’s not a very likable person. He comes off as unrelatable in my opinion as, you know, a wealthy person who’s an elite person,” one male voter said.Another potential issue for Mr. Ramaswamy is racism. Born in Cincinnati, Mr. Ramaswamy is the son of Indian immigrants, the largest immigrant group in Ohio. His primary opponent, Casey Putsch, said Mr. Ramaswamy was “questionably American” and should be deported because he was “an anchor baby.” Mr. Putsch posted a video of himself firing a gun after saying, “Hey Vivek, you want to play cowboys versus Indians?”Mr. Putsch then went on to say, “Don’t worry, it’s feather, not dot.” Mr. Putsch brushed off criticism saying he’s not racist and was only joking. Mr. Putsch won 18 percent of the primary vote despite having no backing from the mainstream Republican party. Members of the far right in the party who are tied to the white supremacist movement have also targeted Mr. Ramaswamy. Followers of avowed antisemite and Holocaust denier Nick Fuentes, known as groypers, have filled Mr. Ramaswamy’s social media posts with racist comments and memes.Mr. Ramaswamy addressed right-wing racism in a New York Times opinion piece. “As one of the most vocal opponents of left-wing identity politics, I now see real reluctance from my former anti-woke peers to criticize the new identity politics on the right,” Mr. Ramaswamy wrote.Mr. Ramaswamy framed it as two incompatible visions emerging on the American right. “One vision of American identity is based on lineage, blood and soil: Inherited attributes matter most,” Mr. Ramaswamy wrote. “The alternative (and, in my view, correct) vision of American identity is based on ideals,” he went on to write.Some of Mr. Ramaswamy’s previously shared views have come back to haunt im. In a 2024 post he explained why tech companies often hire foreign-born engineers instead of “native” Americans. “Our American culture has venerated mediocrity over excellence for way too long (at least since the 90s and likely longer). That doesn’t start in college, it starts YOUNG,” Mr. Ramaswamy wrote in an X post. “A culture that venerates Cory from ‘Boy Meets World,’ or Zach & Slater over Screech in ‘Saved by the Bell,’ or ‘Stefan’ over Steve Urkel in ‘Family Matters,’ will not produce the best engineers,” he continued.Dr. Acton has tried to paint Mr. Ramaswamy as being in favor of using foreign workers over American citizens. She has featured Mr. Ramaswamy’s negative comments about American workers in stump speeches and her campaign ads.With a little more than a month to go before the election, Mr. Ramaswamy is trying to concentrate his message on economic themes. He has proposed an “Ohioans-First” data center policy that requires new facilities to provide nearby residents with free electricity. He says that future data centers must pay their full property taxes, with those revenues used to provide property tax relief for Ohio homeowners.On other economic messaging he has had to play catch-up. Ohio is dealing with some of the highest fuel prices in the country. Dr. Acton recently issued a call for a gas tax holiday similar to the one in neighboring Indiana where prices are nearly $0.50 a gallon lower. “We can offer temporary relief without compromising on investing in our infrastructure,” Dr. Acton said in an X post.Hours later, Mr. Ramaswamy reacted, saying was working with Republican leaders in the Ohio legislature to quickly pass a law to suspend the state’s gas tax for 90 days.“While Amy Acton continues to issue hollow statements without offering an iota of policy detail (and continues to hide from the debate stage), I’m working with our legislature to take action & provide real affordability relief to Ohioans,” Mr. Ramaswamy said in an X post.Two days later, Mr. Ramaswamy held a news conference with Republican legislative leaders calling for the state gas tax to be suspended for 90 days. Mr. Ramaswamy said a family with two drivers would save $165 during the tax holiday. He said, more importantly, an independent trucker could save $1,800 and potentially lead to lower grocery prices.State lawmakers are expected to have their election-season recess interrupted to vote on the bill but a similar proposal introduced in May failed to move out of committee because there were not enough Republican votes. Mr. DeWine has not publicly commented on whether he would sign the bill.Despite the headwinds, Mr. Ramaswamy continues to sound positive about his election chances as he barnstorms across Ohio in a rented private jet. After attending a recent harness race in Delaware County, Mr. Ramaswamy posted on X, “Looking forward to returning again next year as Governor.”

Ramaswamy Fights ‘Elite’ Label in Close Race for Ohio Governor

Ramaswamy Fights ‘Elite’ Label in Close Race for Ohio Governor

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