Ohio Governor DeWine Speaks Out for Ramaswamy and Explains Why Legalizing Sports Betting Is His ‘Biggest Mistake’

Ohio Governor Mike DeWine reflected on his time in office, shared his plans for life after leaving politics and briefly discussed the current governor’s candidacy during a recent forum.

DeWine was a guest at last week’s Columbus Metropolitan Club forum, moderated by an Ohio Public Radio and TV reporter Jo Ingles. DeWine, who is term-limited, has about 230 days left as Ohio’s governor.

“Over the past 235 days, I have been trying, among other things, to complete your work,” he said. “The work never ends.”

Earlier this year, DeWine supported Republican Vivek Ramaswamy’s candidacy for governor, despite working with Democratic candidate Amy Acton when she was director of the state health department.

“It’s clear where I stand,” DeWine said. “I am a Republican. I support the Republican candidate. The Republican candidate is Vivek Ramaswamy.”

DeWine said he has had numerous conversations with Ramaswamy, who stated earlier this year that he wanted it consolidate Ohio’s colleges and universities – saying “We have too many of them.”

“When you ask him one of the most important things you want to do, (Ramaswamy) says: grow jobs, attract businesses, and number two, make sure we have educated people,” DeWine said. “We should not confuse governing with campaigning.”

Despite DeWine’s loyalty to the Republican Party, he has disagreed with President Donald Trump on issues including Haitian immigrants, the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol and the 2020 election.

“The governor’s job is to be the governor of the people of Ohio,” DeWine said when asked why he isn’t more critical of Trump.

“I can’t wake up every morning and think… what did the president do?… My job is to focus on the people of Ohio and what I can actually do and what I can actually accomplish.”

On state policy, DeWine signed the bill into law a 2023 law that requires citizens to show photo ID before the vote, but refrained from supporting a constitutional amendment that Ohio Republicans are trying to put on the ballot.

“I haven’t seen the final language version,” he said.

DeWine has been saying for months that he would announce a decision on the death penalty in Ohio and hinted at the forum that it would happen soon. The last person executed in Ohio was in 2018, shortly before DeWine took office in 2019.

“I don’t want to build it because I’m going to do it soon and I think there’s been a lot of hype about it, but there really shouldn’t be,” DeWine said. “It will just be Mike DeWine considering the death penalty.”

Reflecting on his time in office, DeWine said his “biggest mistake” was signing the gambling bill into law in December 2021.

“What I didn’t anticipate – and I should have – was the huge, huge amount of money that these gambling companies would come in … and fill up the airways,” he said.

DeWine says more and more Ohioans are gambling and losing money, and athletes are falling victim to online violence as a result of betting on sports.

He said the most vital work he has done has been to focus on Ohio’s children — particularly through the Dolly Parton Imagination Library program, requiring Ohio schools to teach reading and original The Ohio Student Eye Exam (OhioSee) program, which provides students in kindergarten through third grade with comprehensive eye exams and glasses in schools.

“If we’re serious about reading, if we’re serious about early childhood development, what we call Ohio See, I hope the next governor will embrace OhioSee … and run with it,” DeWine said.

DeWine, who will turn 80 the week he leaves office in January, plans to spend more time with his 28 grandchildren after his term ends. He announced that he intended to open a center at his alma mater, Miami University.

“We’re not sure what exactly, but we think the focus will be on the kids,” said DeWine, who has a B.A. education. “I would like to help social studies teachers.”

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