Biotech entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy, who will declare his candidacy for governor of Ohio on Monday, wants to reshape public schools, cut regulations and slash spending. It’s a disruptive agenda that sounds a lot like the one that Ramaswamy helped draw up for President Donald Trump’s Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE.

But in an interview with NBC News ahead of his campaign launch, the former Republican presidential contender hesitated when confronted with that observation. “There are a lot of people sort of eager to sort of make that analogy and characterization,” Ramaswamy said. “But I think I characterize my vision for Ohio expansively.”