OHGov

Columbus, Ohio- Following Vivek Ramaswamy’s announcement that Ohio Senate President Rob McColley will join him on his ticket, here’s what Ohioans need to know.

Ramaswamy showed Ohioans what he really thinks of them when he called them “lazy” and “mediocre,” chose to speak at a conference sponsored by a company that advocates for outsourcing American jobs, and moved his own business to Texas.

During McColley’s decade in state politics, Ohioans have seen costs go up while the Republicans in charge do nothing to help working families. During his time in the Ohio Senate, McColley worked to pass a budget that gave wealthy Ohioans a tax break, gutted funding for public schools, and failed to address the cost of childcare while jumping through hoops to give handouts to billionaires. 

“Vivek Ramaswamy called Ohio workers lazy and mediocre, agreed to speak at a conference sponsored by a company that advocates for outsourcing American jobs, and wants to continue the same failed policies that have made life unaffordable for so many Ohioans,” said Ohio Democratic Party Chair Kathleen Clyde. “Voters are ready for change, and Ramaswamy’s decision to pick a running mate who has done the dirty work for special interests and billionaires in the statehouse is further evidence that we can’t trust him to fight for Ohio’s working families.”

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Columbus, Ohio- This holiday season, working families in Ohio are struggling with rising costs of everything from groceries to gifts but Vivek Ramaswamy is wealthier than ever. Forbes reported his net worth has increased by 80% in the nine months since he announced his campaign for governor to $1.8 billion dollars.  

Ohioans already pay more for groceries, healthcare, and countless essentials. Now as the holidays approach, Ohioans are paying 26% more than last year for some of the most popular holiday gifts. Electronics are 34% more expensive, clothing and accessories have jumped up to 20% and toys and games are 17% more expensive compared to last year.

“This holiday season, Ohioans aren’t wishing for an out-of-touch billionaire who clearly doesn’t understand what working families in Ohio are going through,” said Ohio Democratic Party spokeswoman Katie Seewer. “As governor, Vivek Ramaswamy would only work to make billionaires like himself richer.” 

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Columbus, Ohio – Cleveland.com’s 2025 Sloopy Awards has crowned Vivek Ramaswamy the winner of the ‘Worst Use of Social Media’ award for his year-round schooling video. The video, which supporters found so bizarre that they claimed it was AI, received a whopping 26.38% of the vote from thousands of voters across Ohio. 

Read more about Vivek Ramaswamy’s video proposal to establish year-round schooling and AI controversy: 

• Columbus Dispatch: Year-round school in Ohio? Vivek Ramaswamy floats idea in video
• WTVG: Should Ohio students go to school year-round? Candidate for governor suggests they should
• WBNS: Acton, Ramaswamy address public school priorities following social media video
• New Republic: Vivek Ramaswamy’s Latest Comment Is So Dumb, His Fans Say It’s AI 
• Huffington Post: Vivek Ramaswamy Pitches Idea So Extreme Supporters Think His Opponent Made AI Video
• Daily Beast: MAGA Insists Real Vivek Ramaswamy Policy Proposal Is AI
• Center Square: Ramaswamy edits video initially proposing year-round school
• Yahoo News: Fact Check: Gubernatorial Opponent Amy Acton Did NOT Spread A Fake Video Of Vivek Ramaswamy Advocating Year-Round School — He Did Say It
• Mediaite: ‘ENOUGH’: Meghan McCain Outraged at Vivek Ramaswamy’s Deleted Plan for Year-Round School 

Columbus, Ohio –  Vivek Ramaswamy had a brutal few weeks in the news as Ohioans and his own party continue to sour on his unpopular policies and messy campaign.

Ramaswamy’s campaign started this week still dealing with fallout from conservative Republicans from crafting an “absolutely insane”  policy proposal so “blatantly bad”  his supporters hoped it was AI generated. 

Then, new reporting revealed Ramaswamy pulled out of a planned speech at a conference after outrage from his base over the sponsoring company’s stance on outsourcing American jobs. He refused to explain his decision to keynote a conference advocating for outsourcing of American jobs after he told Ohioans how he really feels by calling them “lazy” and “mediocre” 

The more Ohioans get to know Ramaswamy, the less they like him. New polling found Ramaswamy losing ground with voters the more they heard from him, lining up with polling over the past several weeks that showed him losing ground around the state. It’s not good news for Ramaswamy, and as he keeps flying around the state it’s only bound to get worse. 

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Columbus, Ohio- In case you missed it, the Ironton Tribune editorial board slammed Vivek Ramaswamy’s botched education policy rollout where he revealed a policy so bad his own supporters thought it was AI. Even Republicans know Ramaswamy has the wrong idea for Ohio.

See for yourself: 

• Last week, the campaign of Democratic Ohio gubernatorial candidate Dr. Amy Acton posted a seven-second clip of her rival, Republican candidate Vivek Ramaswamy to her social media feeds. 

• The clip featured Ramaswamy making a pitch to do away with summer break for students, making schools go year round and extend the length of the school day in the state.  

• Setting aside the fact that year-round school has been proven to costs states more, due to increased expenses, such as utilities, wear and tear on buildings, as well as more staffing and administrative costs, looking at schools as a way to provide cheap or “free” babysitters shows Ramaswamy may have his priorities wrong when it comes to educational policy.  […]

•  So it came as no surprise that the idea was deeply unpopular with many, even in Ramaswamy’s own party.  

• Conservative commentator Meghan McCain described it “an absolutely insane idea” and said it was “completely removing the importance of family bonding time and anything non-academic related.”  

• Rather than defend Ramaswamy’s policy idea, some Republicans and conservatives instead tried a different approach – concocting an elaborate, ludicrous conspiracy theory to try to clear away Ramaswamy’s ill-received idea.  

• And Ramaswamy’s campaign eventually admitted, to the Columbus Dispatch, that the video, which they had deleted, was, in fact, a legitimate recording of their candidate.

• Ramaswamy’s campaign owes Ohioans a better explanation here. Simply erasing the video, after their allies tried to claim it was fake, and hoping the matter vanishes down the memory hole is not sufficient.  

• This entire display has been pure amateur hour – whether it is the nonsensical claims of fringe media figures Ramaswamy allies with or the campaign’s garbled explanation of the video and lack of clarification of his position, whatever that may be.  

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