Who is Vivek Ramaswamy? Ohio presidential candidate to take stage in first GOP debate

An Ohio native running for president will take the debate stage with his opponents Wednesday night, introducing himself to the entire country for the first time.

Vivek Ramaswamy, a Cincinnati-area native who lives near Columbus, is one of eight Republicans who will face off in the first debate of the 2024 presidential race. The event in Milwaukee − which is also hosting the Republican National Convention next year − will air on Fox News beginning at 9 p.m.

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Ramaswamy entered the race earlier this year promising to out-Trump former President Donald Trump, who will not participate in Wednesday's debate. He has since campaigned heavily in Iowa and New Hampshire, and some recent polls show him gaining on Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis for second place nationally.

"I think that America First, even for many in the Trump base, they all recognize America First is bigger than one man," Ramaswamy said in an April interview. "It does not belong to Trump. It does not belong to me. It does not belong to any individual. It is bigger than any of us. It is bigger than the Republican Party."

Here's what you need to know about Ramaswamy.

Who is Vivek Ramaswamy?

The son of Indian immigrants, Ramaswamy grew up in the Cincinnati suburb of Evendale and graduated from St. Xavier High School in 2003. After high school, he attended Harvard to study biology and began honing his political views. He graduated Yale Law School the same year as U.S. Sen. J.D. Vance, who's also a native of southwest Ohio.

Ramaswamy then entered the world of biotech investing, founding the pharmaceutical research company Roivant Sciences in 2014. He later abandoned Roivant after he clashed with colleagues over how they should respond to the murder of George Floyd by Minneapolis police in 2020. Ramaswamy would not back a show of support for the Black Lives Matters movement.

More recently, Ramaswamy founded Strive Asset Management, an investment firm that aims to persuade companies to stay out of politics and social issues. He's the author of three books, including "Woke, Inc.: Inside Corporate America's Social Justice Scam."

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What does Vivek Ramaswamy stand for?

On the campaign trail, Ramaswamy touts 10 "truths" on religion, race relations and the economy that anchor his policy stances. He wants to send the U.S. military to the southern border, get rid of the FBI and Department of Education, and raise the voting age to 25 with some exceptions. He believes America should abandon what he calls the "climate cult" and unleash fracking, coal and nuclear energy to spur economic growth.

Last month, he released a list of Supreme Court nominees that included U.S. Sens. Ted Cruz of Texas and Mike Lee of Utah. He also raised eyebrows over recent comments suggesting the U.S. government hasn’t been truthful about 9/11.

Ramaswamy remains an ardent defender of Trump and promised, if elected, to pardon the former president for his alleged federal crimes. At the same time, he contends the Republican Party needs a new face to further the America First agenda.

"You get to be an outsider once," Ramaswamy previously told the USA TODAY Network Ohio Bureau. "Trump today is not the same person he was in 2015. I'm, today, a lot more similar to Trump in 2015 than Trump today was to Trump in 2015."

How is Ramaswamy doing in the polls?

Ramaswamy climbed to third place in recent polls of the Republican presidential candidates, putting him ahead of Vice President Mike Pence and other better known contenders. Ramaswamy was tied for second with DeSantis in an Emerson College poll this month.

A poll of likely Iowa caucusgoers released Monday found just 4% considered Ramaswamy their first choice, while 12% said he'd be their second pick.

Trump is still dominating polls of the GOP field.

Yes, he raps

During his time at Harvard, Ramaswamy would dress in all black and perform as the libertarian rapper Da Vek. He told the Harvard Crimson in 2006 that Eminem's "Lose Yourself" was his life's theme song, adding that children should be forced to listen to the edited version.

The candidate formerly known as Da Vek performed the song at the Iowa State Fair earlier this month.

USA TODAY contributed to this report.

Haley BeMiller is a reporter for the USA TODAY Network Ohio Bureau, which serves the Columbus Dispatch, Cincinnati Enquirer, Akron Beacon Journal and 18 other affiliated news organizations across Ohio.

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This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Who is Vivek Ramaswamy, presidential candidate in Republican debate?