On Sept. 26, Ohio gubernatorial candidate Vivek Ramaswamy made his first appearance in Athens. Ramaswamy, the Republican candidate, rented out Red Brick Tavern to host a pre-game party. The doors opened at 1 p.m. and the event began shortly after 2 p.m. Goodfellas provided boxes of pizza for food at the event.
Both Ramaswamy and Ohio Treasurer Candidate Jay Edwards were advertised to speak at the event. However, Edwards was not in attendance.
Among the attendees at the event was Alex Triantafilou, the chairman of the Ohio Republican party, and Sarah Smith, candidate for Athens County Commissioner.
People were lined up outside the bar before the doors opened, and many people were intrigued to listen to Ramaswamy speak.
Jason Izworski is an Athens resident who said he and his wife, Blair Izworski, heard about the event from Red Brick’s owners. Jason Izworski said he believes Ramaswamy is making an effort to make Ohio great again.
“Ramaswamy could easily sit at home and have fun,” Jason Izworski said. “But instead he’s doing the patriotic thing and trying to help make our country and our state better and really putting forth a good effort to bring us back together.”
Jason Izworski also said he was looking forward to listening to Ramaswamy speak because he wanted to know which other leaders were going to stand behind Ramaswamy and aid him in keeping campaign promises.
Both Jason Izworski and Blair Izworski said they were drawn to Edwards and Ramaswamy because they do not feel the Democratic party has a good candidate.
Ramaswamy discussed his opponent, Democratic candidate Dr. Amy Acton, claiming she refuses to participate in a debate.
“I really think it’s a shame that my opponent, my Democrat opponent Amy Acton, refuses to show up on a debate stage with me to talk about these issues, including how we are going to help our young people,” Ramaswamy said.
According to Ramaswamy, both CNN and Fox News have invited both candidates to a debate, but Acton denied both requests. Ramaswamy said he would be willing to show up to a CNN debate.
Before Ramaswamy began speaking, a small group of protestors gathered outside the bar. They carried posters with sayings, including “Resist the broligarchy,” “Let’s vote our way out of this mess” and “Ohio, divest our tax $ from genocide.”
Loraine McCosker, a Democrat and former Ohio University educator, said she was protesting the event because she felt it was outrageous for Ramaswamy to be in Athens.
“He has very, very questionable policies, as well as running horrible, horrible ads against our next governor Amy Acton,” McCosker said.
McCosker said the protesters were not a collective group from an organization, they were individuals with the same idea. She urged people to get out and early vote, reminding people early voting starts Oct. 6 and voter registration ends Oct. 5.
“This is a critical election,” McCosker said. “Please go to the Amy Acton website and look at her policies. She's very, very good on education, on health care, on priorities for struggling financial families, on just so many issues.”
Before Ramaswamy began his speech, Chairman Triantafilou introduced him, and said Ramaswamy has continued to fill out dinner parties across the state for the better part of a year and a half.
“The momentum is real,” Triantafilou said.
Triantafilou said election day is 38 days away and people need to go out and vote for the Republican party.
“We are ready for Ohio to lead the country back to greatness,” Ramaswamy said. “The top state in the country to raise a young family, to grow a business, to give our kids a great education, to be the state where we revive the American dream right here in Ohio. That’s what we’re running for.”
Ramaswamy brought up being in “liberal Athens” a few times in his speech. He said he wants Ohio to be governed like the conservative state that it is.
Ramaswamy continued and said Athens does not have to remain the “liberal stronghold” it is, because he is someone who will be able to deliver tangible solutions.
Ramaswamy’s speech touched on topics like property taxes, saying that, as governor he will implement the largest property tax cuts “Ohio has ever seen, the biggest tax cut in America.”
“This is the most important election for governor our state has ever seen in our history,” Ramaswamy said. “We could wake up to a very different version of this state, where we’ve just elected, God forbid, our first Socialist governor in the history of Ohio, somebody who locked down our economy once, who will lock it down again with taxation and regulation.”
Ramaswamy said he is trying to appeal to younger voters by making home ownership affordable.
“Right now, the system is unfair,” Ramaswamy said. “It’s actually stacked against young people, in one way … our state gets in the way of building starter homes, smaller 1,500, 1,600 square foot homes. Those are exactly the kind of home a young person by their late 20s could dream to afford, but you can’t afford them if they aren’t getting built.”
Ramaswamy said he aims to make home affordability a reality by cutting the red tape that gets in the way.
Ramaswamy mentioned a “six years to six figures” plan, wherein he wants young college graduates to be making six figures in at least six years to help bring down the cost of housing “to make sure you can live the American dream and afford your home.”
He did not outline a specific plan for how recent graduates can make six figures in six years or less.
Ramaswamy said he is the best choice for Ohio governor because the state needs someone who comes from outside of politics.
“I’m an outsider,” Ramaswamy said. “I’m not part of yesterday’s political establishment. I am a businessman. I have built successful companies, employing thousands of people, developing six FDA-approved medicines, several of which are life-saving, that are now worth many, many billions of dollars.”
Ramaswamy concluded by saying “If somebody’s going to create the American dream for young people graduating from college, it’s going to be a guy who lived it.”
IN PARTNERSHIP WITH C-SPAN: View coverage from Ramaswamy’s campaign stop in Columbus on Sept. 23.
