OHGov

Columbus, Ohio – New reporting from Signal Ohio revealed Vivek Ramaswamy’s Super PAC Victors Not Victims took more than a quarter of a million dollars from IT Serve Alliance, then failed to refund the contributions until after Ramaswamy received backlash from online conservatives. 

In November 2025, Vivek Ramaswamy canceled a planned speech last minute at IT Serve Alliance’s annual conference in Puerto Rico following backlash from his own party over IT Serve Alliance’s support for outsourcing American jobs.

IT Serve Alliance contributed $100,000 to V-Pac on November 18th, 2025 and an additional $175,000 on December 1st, 2025. V-PAC then refunded all $275,000 in contributions on December 3rd, 2025, just two days after the controversy began. 

“Vivek’s allies’ willingness to accept more than a quarter of a million dollars from an organization that wants to outsource American jobs only to scramble to save face after getting caught proves once again Ohioans can’t trust Vivek Ramaswamy to fight for them,” said Ohio Democratic Party spokeswoman Katie Seewer. “It’s on-brand for a candidate who calls Ohioans lazy and tells struggling families they’re just imagining the rising cost of living.”

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Columbus, Ohio – Yesterday afternoon, billionaire Vivek Ramaswamy officially filed to appear on the ballot in the 2026 gubernatorial election. Here’s what Ohioans need to know:

• Ramaswamy called Ohioans lazy and mediocre in a bizarre social media rant that he still hasn’t apologized for more than a year later 

• He moved his business to Texas just months before announcing his run for governor.

• At a visit to a food bank in Dayton, Ramaswamy told hungry kids his solution to their problems was to learn to read faster. Months later in an Instagram video, he told struggling Ohioans that the solution to high costs is to just “earn more.”

• He agreed to keynote a conference for a trade association that supports outsourcing American jobs, only to pull out at the last minute after receiving backlash from his own party. 

• In an unearthed video, Ramaswamy called Medicare and Medicaid a “mistake” and refuses to answer questions about how he will lower skyrocketing health care costs for Ohioans.

• Finally, Ramaswamy said last week in a Fox News interview that the higher costs Ohioans are struggling to afford are only “perceived.”  Last year, Ohio families paid $1,532 more in expenses than in 2024.  

“Vivek Ramaswamy is an out-of-touch billionaire who Ohioans know they can’t trust to put our state first,” said Ohio Democratic Party spokeswoman Katie Seewer. “Whether it’s calling Ohioans lazy, moving his business to Texas, or saying that Medicare and Medicaid are ‘mistakes’ and rising costs are just in our imagination, Ramaswamy doesn’t understand the challenges Ohioans are facing, doesn’t care, and won’t lift a finger to lower costs for working families.” 

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Columbus, Ohio- The first month of 2026 is behind us, and it was a tough one for billionaire Vivek Ramaswamy. 

First, it was revealed that his personal bodyguard was at the center of a massive drug trafficking scandal and it took Ramaswamy weeks to fire him. Reporting later revealed Ramaswamy’s security firm was operating illegally in Ohio due to the fact that they were not licensed in the state, causing the firm to fold within days.

Then, in another example of just how wrong Ramaswamy is for Ohio’s working families. Ramaswamy said Medicaid and Medicare were a “mistake,” despite the fact that the absence of either would skyrocket health care prices for Ohioans.

Ramamswamy followed this up by unveiling his grand plan for hardworking Ohioans struggling with rising costs: just make more money. 

And if it wasn’t already clear that Ramaswamy neither cares about nor has any solutions for the challenges Ohioans are going through, he told Fox News that costs aren’t actually rising and Ohioans have just “perceived” that everything from food to utilities to clothing is more expensive. 

It’s no surprise from a politician who spent more than $555,000 on private jet flights in the most recent campaign finance filing period.

“Vivek Ramaswamy opened 2026 by flying over our state in his private jet lecturing Ohioans about how rising costs are only in our imagination,” said Ohio Democratic Party spokeswoman Katie Seewer. “We look forward to Ramaswamy continuing to run on his platform of calling Ohioans lazy while making it clear he doesn’t understand what working families are going through.”  

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Columbus, Ohio-  In case you missed it, Vivek Ramaswamy said in a new clip that costs aren’t really rising and Ohio families are just imagining it. But last year alone, Ohio families paid $1,532 more in expenses than the previous year. 

“While Vivek Ramaswamy flies over Ohio in his private jet and lectures us that rising costs are figments of our imagination, Ohioans continue to struggle with costs,” said Ohio Democratic Party spokeswoman Katie Seewer. “Whether it’s telling us rising costs are in their imagination, arguing Medicare and Medicaid are mistakes, or calling our workers lazy, Vivek Ramaswamy can’t be trusted to fight for hardworking Ohioans.”

• Cleveland.com: Ohio consumers’ electric bills likely to jump again as demand outstrips supply of power

• WBNS: Columbus home sales projected to dip in 2026, but prices expected to rise

• Crain’s Cleveland Business: Ohio families, agencies navigate rising costs for basic needs

• Ohio Capital Journal: Ohio cities rank among the most medically expensive, analysis finds

• WTOL: Toledoans pinch pennies as grocery costs outstrip income growth

• Ohio Capital Journal: Ohio’s economic future is hazy, but a recession might be looming, Fed survey indicates

• Columbus Dispatch: Cost of childcare in Ohio is skyrocketing. What can be done about it?

• NBC4: Ohio ranks among states with worst economies, study says | NBC4 WCMH-TV

• Ohio Capital Journal: Cleveland Fed: Businesses report increasing prices, declining activity

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Columbus, Ohio- After calling Ohioans lazy, saying that Medicaid and Medicare were mistakes, and telling struggling families to earn more, Vivek Ramaswamy now says costs aren’t really rising, Ohio families are just imagining it. 

WATCH THE CLIP HERE 

“If billionaire Vivek Ramaswamy believes Ohioans are only imagining that costs are rising, he should tell us exactly which costs he thinks aren’t going up, because those of us without a private jet know that it’s getting harder to make ends meet,” said Ohio Democratic Party spokeswoman Katie Seewer. “We look forward to Ramawamy continuing to run on his platform of calling Ohioans lazy, saying Medicare and Medicaid were a mistake, and our skyrocketing bills are just in our imagination.” 

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