Dad Passed Down The Dream: Vivek Ramaswamy Highlights Family Story

India-West News Desk

CINCINNATI, OH — Republican candidate Vivek Ramaswamy is leaning into his personal story as he runs for governor of Ohio, spotlighting his immigrant father’s resilience and the values he says shaped his own life and political vision.

Sharing a photo from his Harvard graduation with his father, Ramaswamy reflected on the sacrifices that helped make his success possible. “He didn’t just chase the American Dream — he passed it down,” Ramaswamy said. “Now, I’m running for Governor of Ohio to honor that sacrifice and keep the dream alive for the next generation.”

Ramaswamy, a Cincinnati native and biotech entrepreneur, recounted how his father was laid off from his factory job at GE’s Evendale plant when Vivek was in middle school. “He was one of the hardest workers there, but like thousands of other good men and women, he was laid off without warning.”

Rather than succumb to bitterness, Ramaswamy said, his father found a new job and enrolled in night law classes — bringing young Vivek along because the family couldn’t afford childcare. “I’d sit in the back of his law school classes every night,” he said. “Most kids my age would hate that. But not me. I was fascinated.”

That experience, Ramaswamy said, introduced him to the Constitution and the foundations of American law and governance — shaping a belief system rooted in self-reliance, personal responsibility, and the pursuit of opportunity.

“Every hardship is an opportunity — if you’re willing to work for it,” he said. “That mindset is the foundation of my campaign.”

A prominent voice in conservative politics, Ramaswamy says he’s seeking to “reinstate the American Dream” and demonstrate that personal effort, not grievance, is the path forward.