CLEVELAND — Congressman Ro Khanna is a progressive Democrat representing Silicon Valley in California who is looking to use an economic message to help his party reconnect with voters, like many in Ohio, who once voted Democrat but now vote Republican.
"What we need in this country is a new economic patriotism, not a second guilded age," Khanna said. "We need to redevelop manufacturing in this country, advanced manufacturing, but the way we're going to do it is by investing in our workforce, investing in communities. I was in Warren, Ohio, in Jefferson, Ohio. Why don't we have an initiative in 100 of these communities to build one new factory, one modern factory, combine the technology from Silicon Valley with the industrial might here, and build it."
Khanna spoke with News 5 prior to outlining his plan during a speech at the City Club of Cleveland.
"The City Club has a history of when you give an important speech, people pay attention. And so I'm hoping that people will read the remarks and that this becomes part of the national conversation," he said.
"I think the Democrats need to be a party that is for the economic future, the economic development I'm going to call for a Marshall Plan for America," he said. "If we could build Europe, why can't we build this country? And to explain to how we're going to do it, and the argument with Trump and Vance shouldn't be name calling. It should be who has a better economic vision?"
Khanna is making several stops in Ohio, a state whose place in national politics has faded somewhat along with its bellwether status. Drawing a contrast with the state's former U.S. senator and current Vice President JD Vance.
"It's looking at the ideology that JD Vance is championing and really drawing a contrast to that. I mean, Vance is attacking the universities, he's calling the universities the enemy. Do you believe Ohio State and Case Western are the enemy? No, we need to invest in our universities, we need to invest in our manufacturing, not have these tax breaks for the very wealthy. So I want to really outline a philosophical difference with Vance and say that our policies and economic patriotism are going to help the communities that he talks about far more than these tax breaks to the billionaires," he said.
So what does a Congressman from Silicon Valley have in common with workers in the Ohio Valley?
Well, he grew up outside of Philadelphia, and his wife is from Cleveland.
The couple married at Severance Hall in 2015.
"It's not fly over for me. My wife is from here and so is her family so I come here often for Thanksgiving and Christmas," he said. "I grew up in Pennsylvania, my wife's family is from Ohio, but I now represent Silicon Valley, $12 trillion of market value. I understand some of the economic future. I want to combine that with Ohio's industrial might so that we can figure out how we re industrialize America."
As for his home district, he said Silicon Valley businesses, like many, are just trying to figure out where things stand with the Trump Administration's tariffs and how they will ultimately be impacted.
"They don't know what to do. They finally thought they got some exemption so your iPhone doesn't cost $2,000," he said. "It's just total paralysis. Here's the point, though, you want to build electronics manufacturing in Ohio, you got to finance a Cleveland State, or a Case Western or Youngstown, to build out that technology.
"You got to have tool engineers, you got to have union skill build skill trades. You can't just put tariffs, all that's going to do is have that business go from China to Malaysia or Vietnam or India. So let's have a real vision on how we're going to get that manufacturing here."
At 48, Khanna is seen as a rising star in the party. When asked if this tour is a precursor to a possible presidential run in 2028, he said he's focused on today.
"I'm looking at figuring out, first, how we stop the irrational tariff policy, how we stop the cuts to Medicaid and threaten cuts to Social Security, how we actually have an economic platform that's going to build this country. Of course, what I'd love is for everyone to adopt my economic patriotism. Whoever wants to run in the future, take my platform. This is, I think, what's going to bring this country together."
That being said, would he rule out a run?
"You never rule out anything in life," he said.
