Ramiswamy and the Myth of Moderation

Ohio’s status as the bellwether for presidential elections is long retired, but not the myth that it’s citizens go for “moderate” Republicans when choosing their governor. In reality, modern-era Republican candidates-cum-governors have thrown progressives a few campaign trail bones, then ignored having made any such promises once ensconced in Columbus.

This is a slick and proven strategy whereby Republican governors cast themselves as roundly fair public servants, meanwhile advancing conservative agendas at almost every turn. Consider some recent history, wherein allegedly moderate Republicans:

• Indiscriminately scoured public assistance rolls, leaving hundreds of thousands Ohioans without feasible alternatives (George Voinovich, 1991-1998);

• Decimated under-resourced schools by imposing rigid, standardized testing known as universal “benchmarks for success” (Bob Taft, 1999-2007);

• Sought to gut multiple labor unions, and imposed “merit-based” systems for educators, social workers and key government employees (John Kasich, (2011-2019);

• Refused $9B in no-strings-attached federal funding to assist Ohioans who maxed out their credit cards at the peak of the COVID pandemic (Mike DeWine, 2019-present).

Squarely in this line of Republican wolves in sheep’s clothing, DeWine will conclude his second and final term this fall. The short queue of GOP candidates set to succeed him will soon include a familiar name: 39-year-old Vivek Ramaswamy, 2024 presidential candidate and until late January a stalwart member of Trump’s infamous Department of Government Efficiency team. (As of this issue, Ramaswamy has officially filed for the office, started courting Republican endorsements, scheduled self-promoting interviews, recruited former Trump/Vance political operatives, and scheduled a statewide speaking tour for late February. We can bet the farmhouse he’s running.)

Once officially declared, Ramaswamy will have absolutely no incentive to embrace the myth of GOP gubernatorial moderation. Trump took Ohio by double digits (11 points), and the only significant daylight between the two is Ramaswamy’s off-the-hook call to raise the voting age to 25. In fact, so revered is Trump among the majority of Ohioans, the slightest nod to moderation would be read as weakness, even infidelity.

Pundits here in the Buckeye State predict that with Trump’s almost certain endorsement, Ramaswamy will handily take the GOP nomination. And the early money has Ramaswamy winning the general election by at least 12 points no matter the Democratic opponent. If so, the statehouse is his for the taking.

To date, Ohio’s recently serving Republican governors have at least applied a patina of reserve when advancing otherwise conservative ends. It’s not that every policy enacted, or every position taken was without merit; it’s just that they sooner or later, they returned to being Republicans.

This time, their candidate can just skip all that.

Don Rollins is a retired Unitarian Universalist minister in Jackson, Ohio.

Email donaldlrollins@gmail.com.