Ohio GOP gubernatorial candidate Vivek Ramaswamy said Tuesday that Republicans need to prioritize messages of affordability and avoid talking about “identity politics” if they want to win future elections.
Ramaswamy, a biotech engineer and former presidential candidate, outlined two important takeaways for Republicans after Democrats swept key races across the country on election night.
The conservative media pundit said, “We got our asses handed to us in New Jersey, Virginia and New York City. The Democrats lost all three. There are two important lessons for Republicans. Listen carefully.” In a video posted on the social platform,
“Number one, our side needs to focus on affordability. Make the American Dream affordable. Lower the costs – the cost of electricity, the cost of grocery, the cost of health care and the cost of housing – and explain how we’re going to do it,” he continued.
“And number two: end identity politics,” Ramaswamy said. “It doesn’t suit Republicans. It doesn’t do us. This is the woke left’s game, not ours. We don’t care about the color of your skin or your religion. We care about the content of your character. That’s just the way we are.”
In the governors’ races in Virginia and New Jersey, voters elected former Representative Abigail Spanberger (D-VA) and Representative Mickey Sherrill (D-N.J.), respectively. In New York City, residents voted for the Democratic candidate, Democratic Socialist Zoharan Mamdani, who is now poised to become the first Muslim mayor of the country’s largest city.
Although Spanberger and Sherrill campaigned from the liberal center and Mamdani from the progressive left, all three Democrats prioritized cost of living and affordability when speaking to voters.
Mamdani remained focused on economic issues, even as some of his opponents took direct and indirect digs at his religious identity at times. In the final days of his campaign, a group supporting his opponent released an ad linking the mayor-elect with imagery of the 9/11 attacks on the city. The runner-up, former New York Governor Andrew Cuomo, also suggested Mamdani at the end of last month He cannot be trusted to lead the city if “God forbid, another 9/11” occurs.
Mamdani critics also frequently attacked the then-candidate for his positions on Israel and the war in Gaza.
