Vivek Ramaswamy, the endorsed Republican for the 2026 Ohio governor’s race by President Donald Trump and the Ohio Republican Party, talks with Salem City Councilman Jim Harrington during a visit to Columbiana County GOP headquarters in Lisbon Tuesday. (Photo by Mary Ann Greier)

LISBON — Republican Ohio gubernatorial candidate Vivek Ramaswamy shared his ideas for Ohio and shared many a handshake Tuesday during a visit to Columbiana County Republican Party headquarters.

He even impressed local Democrat Renee Lewis of Lisbon so much that she pledged her support, saying “yes, I’m probably going to vote for you.”

Her late father, Ray Lewis, served as chairman of the Columbiana County Democratic Party back in the day. She was likely the lone Democrat invited to hear what Ramaswamy had to say and was responding to his question of whether she would keep an open mind if he follows through on everything. Her response was absolutely.

“The success of Ohio includes, has to include, every part of Ohio. I’m committed to that. I want to leave this state with a one Ohio mentality,” Ramaswamy said.

He described what got him into the race as gratitude. His family and his parents, who are immigrants from India, have lived a life they couldn’t have imagined. He was born in Cincinnati, went to public school, then a

private school, and graduated from Harvard and then Yale law school. He created successful companies His wife is a throat doctor in Columbus, which is where they reside with their two sons and a daughter on the way.

He said that story is normal for America and “we want to pass that American dream on to our kids but also to yours and to every kid in this state who’s able to achieve even bigger things than I have,” but to do it in Ohio by staying in Ohio. He said his dream for Ohio is that “we’re the top state in the country.”

Ramaswamy said Ohio has all the natural gifts everyone could wish for: great natural resources, natural gas to the east and water to the north; great hardworking population; great geographic location with 60% of the North American population within a day’s drive of where they were now, in Lisbon.

“I truly believe we deserve a governor who has bone-deep convictions, that Ohio’s not just a regional leader but a national leader,” he said.

During his speech, he talked about uniting people by putting more money in their pocket and making life more affordable. He talked about education and the need to bring standards back to school, saying if students can make the transition from learning to read to reading to learn, they’re going to succeed. He talked about training students in high school for skill-based trades, empowering principals to help teachers success and helping parents, too.

“To me, this isn’t about right vs. left, this is about right vs. wrong. This is about up vs. down and we choose up for the state of Ohio,” Ramaswamy said.

He asked everybody to do their part.

When asked about the government shutdown and what he would do if he was governor now, he said it’s nothing new and has happened before.

“One of the biggest issues affecting the country right now is to pay attention to the issue of affordability,” he said.

If the government stopped overspending money that it shouldn’t be spending in the first place, he said that’s the ultimate way to bring down inflation. He talked about a need to reduce property taxes, to have zero income tax to bring companies back.

U.S. Rep. Michael Rulli, R-Salem, was given a chance to comment by Ramaswamy and he said Obamacare had a shelf life that was ending Dec. 31 and all year was being spent on how to afford it, then that changed. He said people need help and people with Democratic senators need to tell them to come back and sign to start the government back up and then get to the table regarding Obamacare.

Ramaswamy also addressed some questions raised regarding Artificial Intelligence and how it could cost people jobs. He said in the near to middle term, this would be an opportunity to train young people for jobs that won’t be replaced by AI, such as the trades. In the long term, he talked about an idea to give young people incentive to stay and a revival of the new American dream.

Columbiana County Republican Party Chairman David Johnson said he was thrilled to have Vivek visit the county, explaining that he was contacted and told Ramaswamy was doing a campaign swing through the area and asked for a location where he could meet with 40 to 50 people.

“I think Vivek is one of the most impressive candidates that I have met in my 35 years as chairman,” Johnson said.

He described him as extremely articulate and talked about his success in business, in tennis and said he’s also a concert pianist.

“I just think he’s a renaissance man, he has so many talents,” Johnson said.

He said it’s important to have relationships with people in government and critical for projects to have personal relationships with them. He pointed out that Rulli is a local resident, every county officeholder is Republican, the county has Republican state Rep. Monica Robb Blasdel, R-New Waterford, and state Sen. Al Cutrona, R-Canfield, at the state level, and both Ohio U.S. Senators are Republicans. Vice President JD Vance has been to the county multiple times, first as a U.S. Senator and then as Vice President.

“I just think it’s an exciting time for the party,” he said, saying these relationships can bring money and jobs back to this county.