Vivek Ramaswamy

The text below is the exact source material used for this statement.

Slash property taxes immediately to protect families, seniors, and homeowners from being priced out of their communities.

The text below is the exact source material used for this statement.

Expand natural gas and deploy innovative energy technologies to strengthen Ohio’s energy supply and reduce electric bills for every family.

The text below is the exact source material used for this statement.

Slash red tape that drives up costs and stalls business growth.

The text below is the exact source material used for this statement.

Ohio is a state of great cities: Cincinnati, Columbus, Cleveland, Dayton, Toledo, Akron, Youngstown, and more. It’s time for us to restore law and order in our cities so that Ohioans feel safe in our cities.

The text below is the exact source material used for this statement.

There are hundreds of data centers already across our state, and the pace of construction is accelerating. While I had no part in these past projects, I am committed to ensuring our policies catch up to current realities. Despite my opponents’ claims, I’m not “pro-data center.” I’m pro-Ohio, and I have a plan to fix the problem.

The text below is the exact source material used for this statement.

Vivek Ramaswamy will deliver immediate relief by rolling back property tax levels to where they were before the end of the Covid pandemic.

The text below is the exact source material used for this statement.

New construction will not be impacted

The text below is the exact source material used for this statement.

Phase out the state income tax—starting with eliminating capital gains taxes—so every Ohioan keeps more of what they earn.

The text below is the exact source material used for this statement.

Streamline energy project permits and remove unnecessary regulations so projects get built on time and on budget.

The text below is the exact source material used for this statement.

Create more paths to homeownership and entrepreneurship by lowering the cost of living and reducing barriers to growth.

The text below is the exact source material used for this statement.

Vivek’s plan ensures every young Ohioan will have the tools they need to thrive in an increasingly competitive economy.

The text below is the exact source material used for this statement.

Address severe psychiatric illness so officers can focus on fighting crime.

The text below is the exact source material used for this statement.

As Governor, Vivek will bring people together around shared values, not partisan divides. He will restore a political culture where we can respectfully disagree, while still seeing each other as neighbors, friends, and fellow citizens.

The text below is the exact source material used for this statement.

After traveling all 88 counties and listening to workers, farmers, union leaders, building trades, small business owners, environmental groups, and grassroots activists, I am convinced that the best path forward is neither unrestrained data center growth nor a permanent categorical ban. The right answer is a policy framework that allows Ohio families to prosper economically while protecting local communities.

The text below is the exact source material used for this statement.

Lower property tax bills for homeowners

The text below is the exact source material used for this statement.

Existing debt obligations will be honored

The text below is the exact source material used for this statement.

Under Vivek’s plan, Ohio will reward work, investment, and innovation, empowering families to thrive, businesses grow, and our state to become the best place in the world to build a life.

The text below is the exact source material used for this statement.

Strengthen public safety across the state so families feel secure in their neighborhoods.

The text below is the exact source material used for this statement.

Today I am announcing my policy pledge to Ohioans on data centers. If a data center is built in your community, then (i) you will no longer have to pay for your home’s electricity, (ii) you will pay lower property taxes, and (iii) the data center will be required to abide by all air and water quality standards without exception, and we will take the necessary steps to protect Ohio’s fertile farmland. If any one of these three conditions is not met, the data center won’t be built. Period. I will work with Ohio’s state legislature to codify these commitments into law immediately after I assume office.

The text below is the exact source material used for this statement.

Relief for farmers and rural communities

The text below is the exact source material used for this statement.

Local governments will continue to operate, but with greater discipline

The text below is the exact source material used for this statement.

Vivek’s plan will push every Ohio city and town to be a place where families feel safe and where businesses want to invest and grow.

The text below is the exact source material used for this statement.

To ensure urgency, I will further issue an executive order on my first day in office to immediately halt the approval of any new data center project announcements in Ohio, until the above-mentioned data center legislation takes effect. These policy objectives are consistent with the principles I have articulated over the first 18 months of my campaign, and today I am making a legislative commitment to codify them into state law.

The text below is the exact source material used for this statement.

Eliminating electricity costs is the right objective. If Ohio’s governor sets this as a clear requirement and negotiates accordingly, I am confident that hyper scalers would be willing to fully cover the cost of power for Ohioans who reside near a data center. That requires the acumen of a businessman, not a bureaucrat, at the top. This is very practical to implement. Data centers could generate power behind their own meter, and the excess power generated can be credited to the electric charges on a residential customer’s electric bill within a certain radius (the “benefit zone”). This would operate as if customers in the benefit zone had executed a power purchase agreement with the power plant, but at no cost. For example, if a data center is constructed along with a 1,000 megawatt (MW) natural gas or nuclear power plant, and the data center uses 700MW of that electricity, the remaining 300MW would flow to the power grid. State law would define the benefit zone and credit the 300MW across all residential customers within that zone. Even 100MW would power 75,000-100,000 homes. Given the potential to power so many homes, most of Ohio’s counties would fit entirely within a benefit zone – which means every resident in the county would pay nothing for their electricity if a data center were built there. Alternatively, data centers could also directly reimburse residential customers within the benefit zone for their electric bills.

The text below is the exact source material used for this statement.

In addition to providing free electricity for local residents, my plan would also deliver property tax relief to Ohioans within the benefit zone – by prohibiting property tax abatements for future data centers and creating a property tax rebate for Ohio homeowners. That is, data centers would be required to pay 100% of their property taxes without abatements, and these property tax revenues would directly fund property tax rebates for homeowners. This helps deliver major property tax relief for Ohio families without hurting local police, schools, or firemen – and may become essential with a looming ballot initiative to eliminate property taxes expected in 2027.

The text below is the exact source material used for this statement.

Finally, my plan ensures that data centers do not receive special exemptions on air and water quality standards and that our farmland is protected. This respects local conservation objectives, while also giving companies a predictable regulatory environment. Simply put: if a data center is going to be built in Ohio, we will require it to minimize its water usage by recycling and reusing its water with the best available technology. We will also require that when the water is released, it comes out just as clean as when the data center took it in. That’s common sense. We will also emphasize the use of vacant and former industrial sites known as brownfields, rather than the use of fertile farmland. Our water and farmland are some of Ohio’s greatest and most precious resources, and my plan ensures that they are protected for all Ohioans.

The text below is the exact source material used for this statement.

That means supporting economic growth for Ohio’s workers, while ensuring that we do it in a way that helps all Ohioans. In sum, my administration will eliminate electricity costs and reduce property taxes for homeowners, while also ensuring that all environmental laws are respected and that farmland is preserved. No data center will be built in Ohio without actualizing these commitments. I look forward to signing legislation in early 2027 to turn this vision into reality.