Ramaswamy says U.S. may have been in decline for decades; cites education reform as key
Ohio GOP candidate argues stronger public-school standards and licensing reform could revitalize the economy, tying national decline to education
Ramaswamy, a Republican candidate for Ohio governor in 2027, told The Post’s Pod Force One that the United States may have been a nation in decline for the last half-decade and perhaps longer, but that ascent is possible if the country confronts its failures, including education. "We may have been a nation in decline for the last half-decade. We may have been a nation in decline for much of even the last half-century. But it doesn’t have to stay that way," he said, adding that "one of those deepest failures, is the failure in our education system."
Ramaswamy, who is seeking the GOP nomination for Ohio governor in 2027, said he favors school choice but wants to elevate "the standards of performance of public schools themselves." He told Devine that reforms should include tougher standards for teachers, particularly in math, and that "licensing requirements to be a teacher are over-expensive" and "they don’t even license them for competency in math to be a math teacher."
On the Ohio economy, he said the state’s industries were at the leading edge of the first industrial revolution but have fallen behind places like Silicon Valley. He called for revitalizing the Ohio River Valley and leading for the next 10 years, building on past foundations while embracing future sectors. The Cincinnati native also said he aims to reverse Ohio’s industrial decay by expanding beyond legacy sectors and embracing advanced manufacturing and tech as the base for growth. "We need to revitalize it and make the Ohio River Valley lead for the next 10 [years] and that means not just the sectors of the past. We build on those foundations, but also embrace the sectors of the future."
Ramaswamy has tied his education agenda to national concerns; he noted a Dec. 26, 2024 post on X criticizing the culture for venerating mediocrity over excellence, and said reversing decline requires a moral imperative to equip kids for a modern economy. "It’s a moral imperative to make sure that our kids and their generation are equipped to be at the forefront of a modern economy," he wrote in December 2024.
According to RealClearPolitics polling averages, Ramaswamy leads the GOP field for Ohio governor as he seeks the office in 2027.
The Pod Force One interview, conducted with The Post's Miranda Devine, touched on education reform, state economic policy, and the kinds of reforms Ramaswamy says could help Ohio and the country regain momentum while the political process to select the next state leader unfolds.
