Payne receives award from party

The Lawrence County Republican Party hosted their annual Lincoln Day dinner on Monday, and the event was keynoted by the leading candidate in their party’s gubernatorial primary for 2026.

Former presidential candidate and businessman Vivek Ramaswamy made a stop at the event, at Stone Creek farms in Ironton, as part of a tour of southern Ohio.

Ramaswamy has been introduced by President Donald Trump in the race, and faces Ohio Attorney general David Yost in the primary.

In her introduction for the candidate, Lawrence County Commissioner DeAnna Holliday stated that she was “honored to 

introduce the next governor of Ohio.”

“He will lead Ohio into the next era,” she said.

Ramaswamy, who received an enthusiastic reception from the gathering, began by giving a guide on how to pronounce his name.

“It’s ‘Vivek,’ like ‘cake,’” he said, of how the second syllable rhymed. “and then ‘Ramaswamy,’ like….‘Ramaswamy.’”

He then turned to Lawrence County Jeff Lawles, who is a regular attendee of the dinner.

“And it’s Lawless, like ‘the law,’” Ramaswamy said.

Ramaswamy said he was enjoying the travel and introducing himself to voters in towns across the state.

“I don’t want to govern inside a bubble,” he said.

He said he came to Ironton, following a stop in Portsmouth, where he visited the children’s museum.

He said he asked the director of the museum what the secret to its success was.

He said the man told him, “We realize no one is going to come here and save us. It is up to us to step up and save ourselves.”

Ramaswamy said it is a philosophy similar to his own approach.

“This is not going to be a one-man job,” he said. “It’s not going to be for one governor. We all have to step up and save ourselves.”

Ramaswamy said he agreed with many things the state’s current governor, Mike DeWine, has done.

“I want to build on that foundation to restore Ohio to greatness,” he said.

He said, “at the turn of the last century, Ohio was the wealthiest state in the nation,” citing industries that were once located in the state.

“All we need to do is believe in ourselves,” he said, stating Ohio could “lead America back to greatness.”

Among his policy proposals, Ramaswamy said he wants to see Ohio become a “zero income tax state,” as well as to put a “ceiling on property taxes.”

He outlined three areas he said were critical to the state.

• First, what he described as an “electrical crisis,” stating the increase in need for power, particularly with the advent of AI data centers.
He said he wanted to achieve “energy dominance” through cutting regulations.

• Second, he said the state’s population is shrinking, with a high death rate, low birth rate and people moving out of the state. He said his proposed tax policy changes could create an incentive to retaining people after college graduation.

He said one “metric of success” he would look at is if the number of people moving to Ohio exceeds those who leave.

• And, lastly, Ramaswamy said he wanted to focus on education.

In this area, he said he supported “school choice,” in the form of a voucher system for private schools, and wanted to increase teacher pay.

He said on the $45,000 starting pay for teachers, “it is not possible to achieve the American dream.”

He said this would be merit-based.

“We don’t want to teach to the test,” he said, adding that peer and parental assessment would be factors in determining this.

A poll, conducted in February by Bowling Green State University, showed Ramaswamy leading Yost, 61-24 percent.

The state’s former health director, Dr. Amy Acton, is running for governor in the Democratic primary.

Former U.S. Sen Sherrod Brown has been touted as a possible Democratic candidate for the governor’s race (as well as the 2026 U.S. Senate election), as has former U.S. Rep. Tim Ryan.

Also, at Monday’s dinner, Dr. Burton Payne was presented with the Republican of the Year award by the county party. At 94 years old, Payne was praised for his longtime involvement in politics, particularly his work last year in manning the party’s county headquarters during election season. The dinner also included the party’s annual Sweet Tooth Auction fundraiser.

Lawrence County Commissioner Colton Copley attended the Lincoln Day Dinner.

“It was very, very nice to have someone who is running for governor come and spend time with us in Lawrence County,” he said at Tuesday’s meeting. “It was a nice event and any event that brings attention to our area, as a county commissioner, we appreciate that.