On Monday night, Vivek Ramaswamy gave Fox News’ Jesse Watters a quick tease about his upcoming announcement that he’ll run for governor of Ohio.
“We look at the country over the last 20 years. Silicon Valley was at the bleeding edge of the American economy. I think the Ohio River Valley can be at the bleeding edge of the American economy for the next 20 years.
People leaving this state from New York or California – right now, they go to Florida or Texas. I think places like Ohio should be where they’re headed in the next couple of decades.”
I’d expect the line about the Ohio River Valley as the next Silicon Valley to be a tagline of sorts, with the tech world’s sudden ascendancy in the GOP and in Ohio, particularly.
In fact, despite the cliche of a Ohio as a working class paradise, the tech industry is booming there, with Columbus already being called “The Silicon Valley of the Midwest”, thanks to major investments (totaling roughly $54 billion) from top tech companies like Intel, Amazon, and other tech giants.
Investments like that require tech talent and thanks to its reasonable cost of living (for now), Vivek isn’t wrong to guess that Ohio will probably see a pretty significant influx of new residents who’d probably not care much that his name isn’t associated with DeWine or older guard Ohio pols, who will also be running in the open primary.
Additionally, NBC News reports that JD Vance’s political team, with its vast experience in the state, will sign onto his run – a sign that he’ll have organizational heft behind his bid and not just the force of Vivek’s personality and celebrity.
2028 TAKE-AWAY: If Vivek wins, it’s close to impossible that he steps away just one year later to run for president. The fact that Vance has signed off on Vivek’s run by filling it with his team just adds to that fact.
In fact, Vance has to be thrilled with the prospect because there it nixes any chance that Ramaswamy might run in 2028, and thus, it’s one fewer challenger that Vance will have to deal with.
So this is a win for Vance.
It’s also a win for Vivek’s potential presidential future down the line. He already has a cult following, a national name, and if he becomes Governor of Ohio – a pretty prestigious gig – he’ll have the benefit of a state that’s growing and seems primed to possibly break out as a Next Big Thing state.
With tech’s investment, the forces are already in play for Ohio’s emergence. Vivek would gain a lot by reaping the benefit of those forces for any national bid again (likely, 2032 or 2036).
[Screencap: Fox News/Jesse Watters]
