Ramaswamy outlines tax, data center, death-penalty and gun policies in Ohio governor forum

During a wide-ranging interview hosted by the Columbus Metropolitan Club, Republican candidate Vivek Ramaswamy described his pragmatic, business-like vision for Ohio’s executive branch. He advocated a $4 billion property-tax reduction, offset partially by state funding and efficiency measures, and proposed that new data centers be built only on abandoned industrial land, offering legislative relief for developers. Ramaswamy opposed two citizen-initiated ballot proposals—one to ban large data centers and another to eliminate property taxes—arguing they would harm the economy and local governments.

He reiterated support for the death penalty, though he is open to revising Ohio’s lethal-injection protocol, and pledged to broaden gun rights by lowering the age for handgun purchases. Additional topics included proposals to keep Medicaid savings within the state, reforms to SNAP, consolidation of public colleges, and criticism of negative campaign advertising.