MOUNT VERNON — The 2025 Knox County Republicans’ Lincoln-Reagan Day dinner sold out early.
Held at The Gallagher Centre, the event featured Ohio gubernatorial candidate Vivek Ramaswamy as the keynote speaker.
Just hours earlier, Ohio Attorney General David Yost, another Ohio gubernatorial candidate, announced his exit from this race, leaving Ramaswamy as the presumptive GOP nominee.
The Ohio GOP State Central Committee had endorsed Ramaswamy in a 60-3 vote.
The 39-year-old Ramaswamy, a frequent guest on state and national political talk shows, came in fourth in the 2024 Iowa Caucuses. He has been endorsed by both President Trump and J.D. Vance.
Ramaswamy also co-chaired the DOGE project with Elon Musk before throwing his hat in the ring for governor of Ohio.
He earned his undergraduate degree from Harvard and has a law degree from Yale. He is a successful entrepreneur.
Knox County GOP Chairman Fred Dailey noted, “Ramaswamy mesmerized the overflow crowd and enjoys a rockstar status. He received a standing ovation after his introduction and again as he concluded his speech.”
Ramaswamy pledged to overhaul failing schools, establish merit-based pay for teachers, gut DEI programs, deport illegal aliens, provide school choice for every family, prioritize math, reading, and writing proficiencies, get cell phones out of the classroom, bring back the presidential physical fitness test, and celebrate excellence over victimhood.
To fulfill Ohio’s potential, Ramaswamy supports slashing red tape, unleashing its energy dominance, eliminating the state income tax, and pursuing meritocracy.
Annual awards
The Knox County GOP also handed out awards at the dinner:
Knox County Republican of the Year: Teresa Bemiller. Bemiller has devoted her life to public service and is highly respected.
Serve Above Self: John and Diane Holley. The duo volunteers for many GOP events in the county and coordinates the Knox County GOP election headquarters.
Young Republic of the Year: Griffin Rothgeb. The first recipient of the award, Rothgeb organized a Knox County Young Republican Club and actively recruits new members.
