Vivek Ramaswamy turns to conservative youth to shape the movement's next phase, analyzes 2026 races

Ramaswamy spoke to Fox News Digital shortly after arriving at the Phoenix Convention Center Friday and said he had already met several people there who told him they were energized to join him at the conference.

"Funny enough - and I often like to do this when I travel west - I went for a hike earlier today to what's called Camelback Mountain, and we saw tons of young people who are going to be here tonight that were getting their outdoor time, so I got to talk to a lot of them," he said.

Republicans are reeling from a string of losses from Florida to Pennsylvania just weeks ago.

"We can do certain things, like bring down electric bills by producing more energy. We'll do those things. But the direct way we can help people is put more money in people's pockets by bringing down the property tax burden, by taking the income tax rate down to zero so people are actually able to have more money to afford things, not just waiting for costs to come down," he said.

"And, No. 2, is preparing our young people to be useful, contributing members of the workforce with a better education system."

"I hope we in Ohio set an example of what the other 49 states can actually aspire to."

Looking past Trump's term limit in 2028, Ramaswamy said the conservative movement will continue so long as it maintains its "aspirational" focus.

"That's my message to those young people tonight, and it is a challenging message. It's not sugar-coated. The No. 1 factor that determines whether you achieve your goals in life is actually you. That's a tough message, but it's the truth. JFK, who famously said, right, 'Ask not what your country can do for you, but what you can do for your country.' Now's the moment to remember that message," he said.

Ramaswamy said MAHA has established youth health as paramount to healthy future generations.

"That's something that most Americans are behind. The 'how' is, of course, easier said than done, but there are commonsense state-level changes that I'm confident we can implement in Ohio that aren't about right versus left. It's about right versus wrong. It's common sense, and I'm sure we're going to be able to get those delivered quickly after I win this election."