MANSFIELD — Vivek Ramaswamy was in a hurry on Thursday evening during his visit to Mansfield.
Then again, the 39-year-old tech billionaire may have a big day on Friday.
The Ohio Republican Party may vote to endorse Ramaswamy to become the state’s next governor — a full year away from the party’s primary vote in a race that also includes current state Attorney General Dave Yost and could include Lt. Gov. Jim Tressel.
Current Gov. Mike DeWine has reportedly sought to delay the party endorsement, which would require support from two-thirds of the governing body’s 66 members, His behind-the-scenes moves may be an effort to perhaps buy time to allow Tressel to enter the race.
Ramaswamy was originally scheduled to speak Thursday at 7 p.m. — after dinner –before a packed house at the Mid-Ohio Educational Service Center.
But a scheduling issue for the 2024 GOP presidential candidate led to a change in plans and his remarks came before local Republicans had a chance to enjoy the meal provided by Dan Lew Exchange.
None of the party faithful seemed to mind waiting during the 30-minute stump speech. Ramaswamy campaigned with it in 54 of the state’s 88 counties in the two months since he declared his candidacy to replace Republican Gov. Mike DeWine.
The current 78-year-old DeWine cannot run again because of term limits.
A Cincinnati-area native who now lives in Upper Arlington, Ramaswamy was endorsed by President Trump on his Truth Social account within hours of his official entry into the race in late February.
Ramaswamy entered the race just over a month after he stepped down as co-leader of government efficiency effort in the Trump White House.
Some polls show him with as much as a 50-point edge over Yost.
Ramaswamy didn’t mention Friday’s potential statewide party vote to Richland County Republicans on Thursday. It was a meeting that attendees had to pass through a “Billionaires Need Not Apply” protest gathered along West Fourth Street in order to reach the MOESC parking lot.
The graduate of Harvard and Yale universities made his fortune in Silicon Valley through his biotech company, Roivant Sciences, and diverse investments across technology, cryptocurrency, and asset management. On this night, Ramaswamy spoke without notes, focusing his comments on plans to make Ohio great again.
Included were his ideas to eliminate the state income tax, reduce government interference, improve education and take advantage of the state’s natural resources, such as natural gas.
As governor, he pledged to make Ohio residents, “the state where they’re not envious of somebody else’s success because they’re participating in it with real skin in the game.”
“The state where the American dream is your birthright, where success is your birthright, where a world class education is your birthright, the state where freedom was our heritage, and if we embrace that, then excellence will be our destiny,” he said.
“This is not a humble vision for Ohio. It is an ambitious vision because I believe that is who we really are as Ohioans and as Americans.
“We’re not victims, we’re victors. We don’t whine. We win,” said Ramaswamy, who said he was the proud son of two legal U.S. immigrants.
“When we rally behind the pride to make America great again, that is what we hungered for … the unapologetic pursuit of excellence in this country. That’s what the American dream is about. I have lived it.
“I will fight for it every day for my kids and for yours,” said Ramaswamy, who suspended his presidential campaign and endorsed Trump in January 2024 after finishing fourth in the Iowa party caucuses.
With control of the White House and both houses of Congress and in a state dominated by the Republican Party, Ramaswamy said the GOP has no one to blame but itself if such an agenda doesn’t push Ohio forward.
“We spent the last four years lost in the wilderness, finding our way and who we are as a nation going through dark ages of the Joe Biden, Kamala Harris, whatever that machine was that was operating that period of our national history.
“But in November of last year, we won. We won both chambers of Congress, the presidency, a 6-3 (conservative) majority on the U.S. Supreme Court.
“Right here in Ohio, same situation, conservative state with a Republican in the governor’s office, both chambers of the legislature in Republican control, 6 to 1 (and) soon to be 7 to 0 on the Ohio Supreme Court.
“At this point, if we screw this up, we’ve got nobody left to blame but ourselves, right? That’s what I say. It’s the truth.
“In some ways, that’s harder. It’s a harder position to be in, but it’s the better position to be in, if we’re willing to step up and do what’s right,” Ramaswamy said.
He noted his vision would require a group effort.
“I’m here because I also know it isn’t going to be a one-man job. I think if this country is truly going to be saved, it’s going to be the states that now have to step up and lead the way,” the candidate said.
“This is where I believe we here in Ohio have a chance to lead from the front, not in the shadow of Texas or Florida, not anymore. I want us to lead, work together to lead Ohio to be not just the top state in the Midwest, arguably we are that already.
“But to be the top state in the country when it comes to giving our kids the same shot at the American dream that this state gave to me … when it comes to giving our kids that world-class education … when it comes to building that business, growing it, generating wealth, and keeping it right here in Ohio,” Ramaswamy said