Ohio GOP gubernatorial frontrunner Vivek Ramaswamy issued a sharp warning Monday morning, declaring that the surge of far-left candidates like New York City mayoral hopeful Zohran Mamdani poses a national threat and represents a defining moment for the country.

“This is a fork in the road for the future of America,” Ramaswamy said in an appearance on Fox & Friends. “It’s not just about one candidate in New York. You look at the rise of [Omar] Fateh in Minneapolis. There’s a deep fissure in the Democratic Party.”

Ramaswamy, 39, who mounted a high-profile but ultimately unsuccessful campaign for the Republican presidential nomination in 2024, is now widely seen as the favorite to win next year’s Ohio gubernatorial primary. He is positioning himself as a national spokesman for the fight against what he calls the “radical left’s agenda,” warning that Mamdani’s election would be a catastrophic endorsement of socialism in America’s largest city.

“If Mamdani wins, it will be a wake-up call — a painful one,” Ramaswamy said. “The well-intentioned, so-called solutions to the housing crisis will only deepen the affordability crisis and hurt the very people they claim to protect.”

The biotech entrepreneur is urging Republicans to seize what he calls a “historic opportunity” to redefine America’s direction.

“This is our moment to make the case — unapologetically — that capitalism and free enterprise are not only just, but the greatest system ever created to lift people out of poverty,” he said.

Ramaswamy has taken his message directly to New Yorkers. Last month, his Super PAC purchased billboard space in Times Square reading: “Worried About Zohran? Ohio Is Waiting For You!” The message was that New Yorkers fed up with progressive politics should consider fleeing to Ohio.

Beyond political ideology, Ramaswamy is also focusing on law and order, condemning what he calls a growing epidemic of urban violence. Later Monday, he was slated to visit his hometown of Cincinnati to address public safety concerns following a brutal attack that shocked the city. Viral footage of the incident shows a woman, identified only as Holly, being sucker-punched and left bleeding on the sidewalk after attempting to defuse an altercation. Ramaswamy said he spoke to her directly and intends to use her story to highlight what he sees as political cowardice on the issue of crime.

“This is about more than one attack,” he said. “It’s about a pattern — people afraid to walk in their own neighborhoods. We need leadership that refuses to sweep urban crime under the rug. I’m not going to stay silent.”

“Too many leaders are afraid to speak the truth because it’s politically incorrect,” he added. “But we need to talk about it — openly, honestly — and demand change.”

(YWN World Headquarters – NYC)