Ohio Republican gubernatorial contender Vivek Ramaswamy sounded the alarm Monday over what he called a growing “socialist wave” within the Democratic Party, singling out New York mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani and others as symbols of a dangerous political shift.
“It’s a fork in the road for the future of the country,” Ramaswamy told Fox & Friends. “And it’s not just about one candidate in New York who represents the socialism wing. You look at the rise of [mayoral candidate Omar] Fateh in Minneapolis.”
Democratic Party facing ‘deep fissure’
Ramaswamy, 39, who ran unsuccessfully in the 2024 GOP presidential primary and is now the clear favorite to win Ohio’s Republican gubernatorial primary next year, said the leftward lurch exposes a “deep fissure” in the Democratic Party.
“You see trends coming up across the country,” he said. “There’s a deep fissure in the Democratic Party.”
A call to action for Republicans
Ramaswamy urged Republicans to step up with a bold counter-message in defense of capitalism.
“My advice to Republicans across the country is this is our chance to actually offer the vision to make the case for why free enterprise, why capitalism, is the best system known to the history of man,” he said.
‘Wake-up call’ for New York
The biotech entrepreneur warned that Mamdani’s potential win as mayor of New York City would have grave consequences for residents already struggling with housing and affordability.
“I do think a lot of people in New York are going to, unfortunately, wake up to the effects of socialism,” he said. “The well-intentioned so-called solutions to a housing crisis are actually going to make that very affordable crisis worse for the people they were supposedly trying to help.”
Keeping a close eye on Mamdani
Ramaswamy has remained sharply critical of Mamdani following the New York assemblyman’s surprise Democratic primary win in June, which catapulted him into frontrunner status in the city’s mayoral race.
“I don’t want to see that play out over the next 10 years,” Ramaswamy said, referring to Mamdani’s proposed economic policies. “I think Republicans have an important role to play.”