A sales tax break for data centers, the death penalty, the Second Amendment and property taxes were among the issues the Republican candidate for governor discussed in a wide-ranging interview before the Columbus Metropolitan Club on Wednesday.
Vivek Ramaswamy took questions for nearly an hour, with several focusing on data centers. He was asked about the sales tax exemption for new data centers that's been on hold since May, when Gov. Mike DeWine ordered a moratorium on awarding those tax breaks, though he vetoed an attempt to suspend the tax break for new data centers in the budget last year. That tax break saves data centers billions of dollars on construction costs as well as on buying new chips, which have to be purchased throughout the life of the data center.
"I think it's not something that I'm in favor of," Ramaswamy said. "Our Republican legislature has come out in favor of it. It's actually some partisan ironies here. It was actually Democrats who voted to stop the Republican effort to repeal that sales tax exemption, which was then vetoed by the governor. So it's not a Republican or Democrat thing. My native instincts are I don't like any tax breaks, period."
Ramaswamy said that extends to property taxes, which he said data centers should pay, and the facilities that he wants data centers to build to generate their own power should pay them too.
On the death penalty, Ramaswamy said he intends to see executions resumed in Ohio for the first time seven years in what he called "rare cases for the most egregious crimes". And he said he's mindful of the recent botched execution of Christa Pike in Tennessee last month. Pike survived two lethal injections
"We will never repeat the mistakes of Tennessee in Ohio. We will see to it that the methods we use are ethically appropriate, scientifically sound, effective, and swift, to ensure that it is done in a manner that respects the dignity and life of every person in the state as we carry out those punishments," Ramaswamy said, adding that he would consider backing legislation to change the 25-year old law setting lethal injection as the state's only method of execution. "I'm open-minded to methods other than lethal injection that have been successfully used in the past."
The death penalty has been on hold since 2019, when Republican Gov. Mike DeWine has been in office. In June, DeWine asked state lawmakers to abolish executions in Ohio.
Ramaswamy was also asked about his claim that he'd be the most pro-Second Amendment governor in Ohio history. State law currently restricts purchases of handguns to people over 21, but Ramaswamy said there's federal case law supporting the purchase of guns by those who are 18.
"We do have constitutional carry in Ohio, but there are shortcomings for where that fully meets the letter of what federal case law already tells us the Second Amendment is about," Ramaswamy said.
Ramaswamy said he's a "constitutionalist" on that point and on same-sex marriage. He said that's been settled by the U.S. Supreme Court, though a ban on same-sex marriage is still in state law and the Ohio constitution.
"The federal constitution is supreme. The Supreme Court has spoken, and I fully abide by and respect where the Supreme Court has landed on this issue," he said.
Ramaswamy also talked about one of his main proposals, to roll back property taxes to pre-pandemic levels. That could cost local governments and schools around $4 billion. He's said that any shortfalls to communities will be covered with state funding, and was asked where the money would come from.
"What’s baked in that question is assuming that every dollar is dollar for dollar swapped out. I'm not necessarily saying that's going to be the case. What I'm saying is that we're making sure we're not going to cut corners on schools, local police, fire or veteran services," Ramaswamy said. "I do think the idea that the pie is fixed and we have to fight over how we divide it up is a bit of a fallacy if you have pro-growth policies that I'm going to bring to this state, which also increase the size of that pie. That is something I'm committed to. It's frankly a standard that I expect the people of this state to hold me to."
The Democratic candidate for governor has also been invited to an interview at a future CMC forum. Amy Acton has not committed to accepting that invitation.
