The Ohio Dream Big Announcement Live from Cleveland

I got to say, I am from Warren, Ohio. I live in Columbus now. I run a Christian public policy organization in Columbus, Ohio, but I'm from the Mahoning Valley. Who's our Mahoning Valley friends in here? There we are. You see that? Growing up in Warren, Ohio, I'm used to so many politicians coming through town making big promises about what they're going to do in our state. And time after time, we've seen those promises broken. And I remember the first time I met Vivek, that was going through my mind of people who have come through and made big promises. But when we started talking, I realized this man is different. This man is someone who truly understands what's going on in our country today and in communities like Warren, like Cleveland. And he's willing to, he actually has ideas to do something about it. And he's willing to stand up to the powers that be that have kept these communities held down for so long. And I know that because Vivek made his name by looking at corporate America and saying, we're not following your woke nonsense anymore, and we're going to do what's right, amen? And so Vivek and I started talking, and I found a man who loves his wife and his family, his incredible wife. How amazing is a poor Ramaswami, right? And these children, and he wants a better future for them. And he understands what's going on in our broken education system. And he actually has ideas to fix it and not just placate the teachers unions. And we started talking about our faith. And Vivek and I are of different faith, but he understands how important Christians are to the future of Ohio, right? And when we were talking, Vivek made a commitment to me that when he was going to choose his lieutenant governor, he was going to pick a strong Christian. Well, I can say here today, even before Vivek has taken offices, promises made and promises kept because Rob McCauley is a strong Christian leader. Now, there's just like with politicians that talk the talk, but don't walk the walk all the time. There are Christians who talk the talk and don't walk the walk all the time, and sometimes those two overlap actually, go figure. But with Rob, here's a man who lives out what James says, faith without works is dead. Here is a man who lives out his faith, right? When we had the woke mob saying that boys should be able to compete in girl sports, Rob McCauley stood up to protect our girls' privacy and fair playing fields. When the universities were pushing DEI down the throats of the next generation, Rob worked with our very own Senator Jerry Serino to pass Senate Bill 1 to ban DEI at universities and colleges in Ohio. Rob has a 100% pro-life voting record and has fought day in and day out to stand for what makes our families strong. Now, what's interesting about this is while Vivek has picked a man that stood for families and stood for kids, Amy Acton has picked a man who couldn't even tell you what a woman is, right? David Pepper expects to be able to help lead our state, but he's confused about who gets to go into which bathroom. And I've got to tell you, I don't think you need a PhD to figure that one out. The reality is David Pepper drove the Democratic Party into the ground because he is so radical. And Vivek Ramaswamy and Rob McCauley are going to restore common sense in the state of Ohio. That's why I was proud to endorse Vivek Ramaswamy, and I'm grateful for you standing here with us today. God bless you all. Ladies and gentlemen, please welcome the Ottawa County Sheriff, Steve Lvovichik. Thank you very much. Thank you for being here. I'd like to first of all thank Vivek for inviting me to speak, such a prestigious event. I don't know if you know this, but Vivek Ramaswamy has been around for 41 years. I'd like to take a minute and share a story with you along with my thoughts regarding Vivek's commitment to reducing violent crime across the state of Ohio and his commitment to partnership with local county and state law enforcement. On January 31st, 2025, it was the first time that Vivek and I were together. During that conversation, he asked me what law enforcement believes to be successful in fighting this crime, and also with the sheriff, who needs us. Our biggest part of that conversation was the fact that our county failed to become a mental health resource in the state of Ohio. After that conversation, a few weeks later, Vivek and I spoke, and he announced his candidacy. It was one of his top topics, the fact that we are not treating the mentally ill, we are incarcerating them. That was sort of a dream for me. Statewide politicians would like to enlist us and join us for the seat of governor, chief judge, sheriff, etc. Since that time, Vivek and I have had numerous conversations regarding the safety and security of the citizens of Ohio. Vivek has made a very strong commitment to ensure that all public safety within Ohio is supported and to perform their duties to the best of their ability. Vivek has made a commitment to combat violent crime across the state of Ohio. He will provide the resources necessary to partner with local county and state law enforcement Again, in my 42 years of law enforcement service, I've heard many politicians promise to combat crime. I've heard many politicians promise to support law enforcement in their efforts to better serve their communities. And I've heard many politicians blow political smoke in hopes to obtain not only the support of voters, but also the support of the law enforcement community. Vivek Ramaswamy does not make empty promises and he does not blow political smoke. Vivek is a man of honor and commitment. He is a man of vision and drive. Vivek will not work until the end of the day. He will work until the job is done. Vivek does not settle for mediocrity and half-hearted attempts. He strives for perfection and service above self. If Ohio's looking for a governor who expects more from others, then the list is long. But if Ohio's looking for a governor who truly expects more from himself, that choice can only be Vivek Ramaswamy. I'm going to say it right here, I love Vivek Ramaswamy. From that first conversation I told him that day, I would endorse him, and I have. And I've been proud to put my name on that endorsement list. My family loves Vivek, and they have all committed that they will be voting for Vivek this November. They see a man who's a visionary for our future. They see someone who cares about the future of Ohio, and when I'm retired and gone, someone who will take care of my children, grandchildren, and beyond, and set them up for success. I want you to understand that in Ohio we have 88 sheriffs. Sixty-six of such have endorsed Vivek Ramaswamy for governor. Three-quarters of the sheriffs from the state of Ohio have endorsed Vivek Ramaswamy. That's a number that's never been matched by a gubernatorial candidate in the history of Ohio. It's because they know that the man is real, the man has vision, the man has strength, and he will not stop until the job of providing safe communities for Ohioans is complete. So I ask you to stand with the sheriffs of Ohio. Stand, walk, run, or however you can get there. But we have to get out and vote in November. We have to get out and vote, and we have to get our friends, our family, to get out and vote. And have them vote for Vivek Ramaswamy. Thank you for your time. Ladies and gentlemen, please welcome to the stage Mrs. Apoorva Ramaswamy. Next year is my come-up. I've been lacking, but I can feel it. It's the one, all the last 365 years. Hello, Cleveland. Wow. It is so great to be here tonight. For those of you who don't know me well, I'm a doctor at Ohio State. I'm mother of our two young sons. And I'm Vivek's teammate in this special journey to leave the house. Now, I know we're all gathered here today for a very special moment. And Vivek and I decided that I should be the one to break the news today. So here it is. It's a girl! I'm just kidding. I know you aren't just here for a gender reveal. So we are expecting our baby girl in a few weeks. And after we take a short break, I'm looking forward to seeing all of you as we travel across the state for the rest of this year. In all seriousness, this obviously isn't a particularly natural time in our lives for us to be doing this. But the reason Vivek is doing this, the reason that we are doing this, is that I believe he is the one person who can lead Ohio to achieve our state's true potential. Making our streets safer, our schools better, our lives more affordable. Vivek is the most extraordinary man I've ever met. Not just because of his accomplishments, his companies, his books, his policies, which all of you are familiar with. What makes him special is who he is as a man of principle and honor. He's a man I trust. And who has been by my side as a husband and father. Even as he has done all of those incredible things out there in the world. Even in this campaign. He traveled to all 88 counties last year. Broke fundraising records. Met tens of thousands of Ohioans. But almost every night, at the end of a long day on the road, even if it was midnight or 1 a.m., he would sleep in our bed and wake up in the morning, spend time with our kids and drop them off at school. That's not some politician. It's who he is. If entering politics would have made him any worse as a husband or a father, I know he would not have done it. The same way I know he will make the best choices for our state as governor. He's a man of creativity and joy and hard work and perseverance and kindness and honesty. And if he is even half as good of a governor as he is a father to our children and as my husband, then he will be the best governor the state of Ohio has ever seen. So with that, please join me in welcoming my husband and, with your help, the next governor of Ohio, Vivek Ramaswamy. Ex-First Lady, guys. You'll be seeing a lot more of Apoorva after those first couple of weeks of February. So we appreciate your well wishes and everybody for this exciting time in our life. And I will tell you, 2026 will be a year of many blessings, hopefully for our family, but we hope definitely for our home state of Ohio. Get ready for it because it's coming this year. Thank you. Thank you very much. So on the day that I launched this campaign in Cincinnati, Ohio, I spoke about my 6th grade teacher, Ms. Kinney, at Rellis, Robert E. Lucas Intermediate School in Sharonville, Ohio. It was a public school in greater Cincinnati. And I'm thinking of her today because she died in January of 2024, almost exactly two years ago to the day today. I transferred into Rellis in the middle of that school year, and Ms. Kinney saw me going through a tough time. She made the extra effort to step up and help me through it. And she caused me to see potential in myself that I didn't know I had. She caused me to think, why not me? I'm going to tell you why I'm running for governor. And I'm going to give you some straight talk, some real talk. I'll tell you why I'm running for this office. In 2020, when I watched Florida become the first state in the country to reopen its economy, I asked the question, why not us? In 2021, when I watched Tennessee become a zero-income tax state, I asked the question, why not us? In 2022, thank you, when states like Arizona and Iowa adopted a true universal school choice, I asked the question, why not us in Ohio? In 2024, and this was the straw that broke the camel's back for me, in 2024, when the CEO of a company that I founded in Columbus, Ohio, told me that he needed to move the business I built in Ohio to Texas, I asked him the question, why not us? The reason I'm in this, the reason I'm running to be the governor of Ohio, is to make sure that that will be us when I'm in charge as your next governor. That is why I hope to lead this state to greater heights than we have ever seen. Now, I visited all 88 counties of this state last year, and I will tell you, here's what we learned. People are not interested, not anymore, not in empty words. They don't need more strongly worded social media posts. And by the way, I'm happy to say I'm not even on social media anymore this year. It's fantastic, it's been a great year to leave that to where it is. We don't need more strongly worded social media posts. We need results. We need action. And with your help, when we win this election this November, and with your help we're going to deliver that, that is exactly what you are going to get from me. Swift, immediate, unrelenting action. We are going to make Ohio a zero income tax state, where you can keep what you earn. It is your money, not the government's. And if nine other states can get that job done, I will tell you the state that put a man on the moon can get this job done too. This is not rocket science. It is about being more efficient in the way that we run our government. We need a businessman, not a bureaucrat, to get that job done, and that is why I'm in this race. We're going to deliver the biggest property tax rollback in the history of our state. Because it is your home and your land, not the government's. And we will do it while improving academic performance in our public schools. Now the supposed justification for the property tax increases is that they're required to fund our public schools. But here's the math, here's the actual hard facts. It turns out that you all, the taxpayers, are paying nearly 40% more per student today than you all did before the pandemic. Yet student enrollment has declined, and educational achievement outcomes have fallen off of a cliff. Not just in Ohio, but across the country. In our state, third grade reading proficiency is now down at 7% pre-pandemic versus post-pandemic. Eighth grade math outcomes are down by 9% pre-pandemic versus post-pandemic. History scores are down by 6 points. We now have more fourth graders in Ohio who can't read at the basic level that you require in fourth grade versus fourth graders who are proficient in reading for their grade level. And by the way, our public school teachers, teachers like Mrs. Kinney, should actually be paid more than they are today because even though the per-student funding has gone up, the average teacher pay has actually gone down on an inflation-adjusted basis. So the problem is not our teachers. It is the bureaucracy. And that is what we need to ultimately get in there and dismantle without fear. We're a red state, not a state of red tape. And we will be relentless in getting the job done. Now, the Democrats like to talk about affordability. They like to talk about funding for our public schools. Yet the policies that Amy Acton and the Democrats push are what create that affordability crisis, are what create that educational achievement crisis in the first place. Here's how we're going to make Ohio the most affordable state in the country. We're going to put more money back in your pockets by cutting your income taxes, by cutting your property taxes, and cutting regulations that will bring down your electric bills and the cost of housing. That is going to make Ohio the most affordable state in the United States of America. And here's how we're going to do all of those things while also solving the education crisis in our country. Well, we're going to be the state that actually brings back common-sense standards to our public schools. That includes math. That includes reading. That includes writing. It includes literacy coaches. It includes common-sense solutions like fully implementing and integrating the science of reading in the way our public schools are actually run in the real world. It includes implementing controversial measures like the third-grade reading guarantee, which says that if you are medically capable and you are unable to read by the end of third grade, you're not going to fourth grade until you can. That is the time a child makes the transition from learning to read to reading to learn. And we're going to stand for those students. Our kids aren't widgets on an assembly line. Every student deserves to actually be treated with the respect and dignity that unlocks that student's potential. That is what our education system is about. It means every parent deserves to send their kids to the best possible school they can, regardless of their zip code, regardless of where they live. And it means bringing transparency so that parents and the public can understand how our schools are actually performing with proper math, proper reading, proper writing, instead of gender ideology, racial ideology, and victimhood psychology. That is how we lift up educational achievement in this state. And you mark my words on this. By the time we're done with that here in Ohio, hopefully before the end of even a first term, it will be Texas and Florida following Ohio's lead rather than the other way around. It's Ohio time now in the United States of America. Now, there are those in places like California or New York or even our friends in Texas or Florida who will tell me, you know, we like you and everything, but don't get carried away. How could Ohio be that state in the United States of America? And I remind them that it was not long ago that Ohio was that state in the United States of America. A century ago from right now, we were the top state in the country. We were America's first frontier state. We led the first industrial revolution. Six of the top 15 wealthiest cities in the United States of America, even in the middle of the last century, were right here in the state of Ohio. Toledo led in glass production. Akron led in rubber production. Youngstown, where we are right now here in Cleveland, led the world in steel production. Dayton led in computing. My hometown of Cincinnati was known around the world as the Queen City. We were the consumer products capital of the country. We were the state that gave birth to Neil Armstrong, to John Glenn, to Thomas Edison, to the Wright brothers. We were the state that the rest of the country looked up to. And you know what? We can be that state again. I am proud to be born and raised in this state of Ohio. It is a core part of who I am. My wife, Apoorva, and I are proud to be raising our two sons, and God willing, in a few weeks, our soon-to-be daughter, right here in the state of Ohio. We're proud parents in Ohio. And by the time I'm done, I hope, with two terms as your next governor, our kids will be proud to grow up and stay here, right here in Ohio, instead of moving to another state. Not because we force them to, but because this is the state where the best possibilities and opportunities in the world are actually available to them, because this is the state where they can afford to live a good life, because this is the state that represents the core conservative values that over 80% of us in this country and in this state actually share in common. So when we deliver the biggest property tax rollback in the history of our state, other states will ask, why not us? When we eliminate taxation on capital gains in this state of Ohio, other states will ask, why not us? When we attract massive financial investments from the foreign trade deals that the Trump administration is actively negotiating right now, other states will ask, why not us? When we become the first state to execute the fastest turnaround in math, reading, and writing across the United States of America, other states will ask, why not us? That is the fork in the road we have ahead of us. Do we want Ohio to become Tim Walz's Minnesota? I riddled with waste, fraud, abuse, welfare-laced socialism, victimhood psychology, and ultimate failure, because that's what Amy Acton is going to give you. She knows exactly what she wants to do, that special brew of incompetence, envy, and bitterness that will be the end and ruin of our state. Or do we want to be the state that leads the United States of America back to greatness? I am here tonight to tell you, we here in Ohio choose greatness in Ohio. We choose success in Ohio. We choose the American dream in Ohio. And starting tonight, we call that the Ohio dream. The Ohio dream begins tonight and this November when you send us ultimately to lead this state. That Ohio dream means we bring down your property taxes so you once again feel like you actually own your home instead of feeling like you're renting it from the government. The Ohio dream means that we bring down the cost of your electric bills by producing more energy right here in our home state. The Ohio dream means every parent gets to send their kids to the best possible school for their unique child. The Ohio dream means that if you work hard, you play by the rules, you get to have a good life and dream for an even better life for your kids. That Ohio dream is my dream for this state. But as a thank you, I will take that. Thank you. But I will also be frank with you, right? Thomas Edison said this. He's a great Ohioan. People forget that. He said a vision without execution is a hallucination. And I've been honest with you since the start of this campaign. I'm not going to pretend to be something I'm not or have experience that I don't have. The truth is I'm not a politician. I don't aspire to be one. I will serve as the governor of this state. But I'm an entrepreneur at my heart, and I'm proud of that. I've built my career, including because the opportunities that I was given starting at a young age through an education in this state, to be able to achieve heights that my parents never imagined possible when I grew up in Cincinnati. I've had a chance to overturn the table in multiple different industries, and I'm ready to overturn the table in Columbus when I'm elected because I think that is what is required to lead our state and lead our country. But I want you to hear me loud and clear on this. If we're really serious about turning that ambitious vision into reality, not aggressively worded social media posts, not aggressively conducted combative media interviews, not complaints about how the Democrats or whoever else is stopping us, right? That exists. It's politics. But if that's your goal, that's one thing. But if your actual goal is to not just translate this into words and a serial cycle of complaints and grievances, but actual action, then it will require me as a governor to work with our legislature to quickly, rapidly, surgically, unapologetically enact this vision into legislation. And in order to do that, I'm going to need a governing partner who is going to help me achieve those legislative victories. That is where the rubber ultimately will hit the road starting in the first few months that we're sworn into office. And I believe with that goal in mind, not the goal of signaling virtue to anybody, but the goal of actually getting things done, there is no better person in this state to achieve that with me and for me than our Senate President, Rob McCauley. He has served. He has served in the Ohio House. He has served in the Ohio Senate. He's worked his way up, but he's done it pretty fast. He's become Senate President by the age of 40. We're basically the same age. He's still in this domain relatively young, but he has experience that I don't have. And that is why tonight I am proud to announce and I ask you to join me in welcoming your next lieutenant governor, my running mate, the man who will implement this vision through our legislature, the next lieutenant governor of the state of Ohio, my friend, Rob McCauley. Thank you, guys, and Rob. You can stand the gates of hell, but I'll stand Thank you, everybody. It's a great honor to be here, and it's a great honor to join this ticket with an excellent candidate like Vivek Ramaswamy. It's also a great honor to be your Senate President. We've had an awful lot of big wins that we've had over the years, different things that we've done that made Ohio better, but I'm going to start this speech in a little bit of an unorthodox manner. I'm going to start this speech by talking about the biggest mistake that I made, the worst vote that I kept as a member of the Ohio Senate. That vote, ladies and gentlemen, was to confirm Amy Acton as Ohio's Health Director. You see, it was a monumental mistake. It was an unmitigated disaster for the state of Ohio that caused Ohio to experience an awful lot of harm in the coming months, so much harm that it caused me and my friends in the legislature, and I was happy to lead the effort to strip her emergency powers from her so neither Amy Acton or any other person could inflict that harm on Ohio ever again. And what did Amy Acton do when the legislature began pushing back? Amy Acton quit. Let me tell you what Ohio needs, because we don't need Amy Acton anywhere near the governorship in Ohio. Let me tell you what Ohio needs. Ohio needs a businessman, not a bureaucrat. Ohio needs a creator, not a quitter. Ohio needs a visionary, not a victim. Ohio needs somebody who's going to focus on affordability, not somebody who's going to put in lockdown policies that are going to raise our prices. Ohio needs somebody who knows how to grow the economy, not shut it down. Ohio needs somebody who knows that we need to have more of your pay in your pockets and less of your pay in the coffers of the government. Ohio needs somebody who's going to focus on our public school systems, public school students, not shut them out of our public schools. And Ohio needs somebody who is going to appreciate success, not somebody who's going to villainize it. Ladies and gentlemen, it's time that Ohio needs to elect the next governor as the vague Ramaswamy. Because let's be clear, the record of Amy Acton is disastrous. No public official this century has been responsible for more learning loss and more economic damage than Amy Acton. At a time where the science was clear that our kids in our schools would rarely be adversely affected by COVID, Amy Acton refused to open the school. She shuttered businesses, sometimes multi-generation businesses, and caused them to have to close, which caused other businesses to then have to raise their prices, making the basic necessities that we all need completely unaffordable. And when Ohioans from across the state and the legislature began to push back, Amy Acton quit. When students and teachers and parents began to say, look, we need these students back in the classroom so they can begin learning again, Amy Acton quit. When businesses demanded flexibility so they could sell their products and simply put food on the table for their families, Amy Acton quit. And when families all across Ohio begged for an opportunity to see their loved ones, their parents, their grandparents, one last time in the nursing homes as they were spending their last days here in Ohio, Amy Acton quit. And when she needed to admit her mistake and be part of the solution, Amy Acton quit. This is a symptom of one of two things, ladies and gentlemen. It's either a symptom of the fact that she cannot stand the pressure of making decisions that impact the everyday lives of Ohioans, or she cannot fathom taking the heavy hand of government off our backs. Either way, take your pick. Neither one belongs anywhere near the governorship in the state of Ohio. I'm a man of deep Christian faith. And that deep Christian faith drives me to be a devoted husband to my wife, Amy, to my wife, Denise, committed father to my three children. It's that same drive that provides the purpose and convictions that I use to serve Ohioans every day. And as I've come to know the faith, I know him as a man of faith, and I know his faith drives him as well to be a devoted husband to his wife, Apurva, to be a devoted father to his two sons and soon to be a daughter on the way. That same drive drives him to have the purpose and conviction to lead Ohio and to make Ohio a state of excellence. You see, Vivek realizes in order to tackle this affordability crisis that's facing Ohioans, we need to focus on practical solutions. We shouldn't focus on lockdown policies which made everything virtually unaffordable. He understands that bureaucrats like Amy Acton, they may cry crocodile tears and they may say that they appreciate the problems facing Ohioans, but in reality, they just want to advance the liberal radical policies that have made states like Minnesota what they are. He understands that as a business creator, you need to be able to walk the walk and talk the talk to bring that kind of investment to the state of Ohio, and he's also willing to challenge the status quo by flipping over the table and reforming some major issues like education to make sure that our teachers, our hardworking teachers, our great teachers get paid what they deserve regardless of tenure. Ladies and gentlemen, it is time for Ohio to rise and not fall. It is time for Ohio to grow and not wither away. It is time for Ohio to lead and not follow. I will not stand by and watch Amy Acton turn Ohio into what we're seeing in states like Minnesota. I need your help to fight to make sure that she gets nowhere near the governorship in the state of Ohio. Ladies and gentlemen, we need a creator, not a quitter. It's time to elect Vivek Ramaswamy as the governor of the state of Ohio. Thank you, and God bless. Applause for your next lieutenant governor. Let's go, Ohio, and let's go, USA. Thank you, guys, all right? Sometimes you stand, sometimes you turn, you're back to the wind. There's a world outside every darkened door where blues won't haunt you anymore, where the brave are free and lovers soar. Come ride with me to the distant shore. We won't hesitate to break down the garden gate. There's not much time left today. I've walked the cities and all these towns and tipped my blood for the hands commusing to those Memphis nights. The cobwebs must have been cool as ice.