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

By Fox News · Fox News

Ohio gubernatorial candidate and entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy warned conservatives not to take any political races for granted, including his own – and commented on what AmericaFest means for the future of the right as it draws in thousands of voters and activists, including youth. Ramaswamy spoke to Fox News Digital shortly after arriving at the Phoenix Convention Center on Friday, and said he had already met several people here 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. "I would say the mood is a combination of enthusiastic and determined, but with a sober sentimentality as well. It's clear that a lot of these young people were, I mean just like me and the rest of us, affected by Charlie's death, and they're hungry for direction." CONSERVATIVES NEED TO EMBRACE ‘FUSION’ OF POPULISM, TOP LEADER SAYS, CALLING AMFEST SCENES ARE ‘ENCOURAGING’ Many of the young conservatives he met appeared to want to find the direction the conservative movement and TPUSA will go following Kirk’s death. In Ohio, where he is seeking to succeed term-limited moderate Republican Mike DeWine , Ramaswamy stressed that even though Ohio has been reliably red, he isn't taking the race for granted. Republicans are reeling from a string of losses from Florida to Pennsylvania just weeks ago. VIVEK RAMASWAMY CRITICIZES POCKETS OF 'ONLINE RIGHT' FIXATED ON HERITAGE IN TURNING POINT ADDRESS "I think we’ve got to worry less about just defeating the left -- because we did that last year. That's not good enough. We have to offer our own vision of what do we actually stand for," Ramaswamy said. "And, in Ohio, what I know I'm going be able to deliver is two things that Ohio needs and I believe this country…