In the GOP’s ongoing presidential primary, former President Donald Trump has long ranked as the frontrunner, with Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis historically finishing as a second-place challenger ahead of several other third-tier candidates.
But now the shape of the race has changed… and a new candidate is in second.
Vivek Ramaswamy, an entrepreneur turned author, reportedly finished second in a Kaplan Strategies poll of 800 people likely to vote in the GOP’s primary. In the poll released Thursday, Ramaswamy registered double-digit support for the first time.
“Vivek Ramaswamy, biotech investor, has made significant strides in his political journey, tying with Florida Governor Ron DeSantis in the latest national GOP poll,” Kaplan Strategies wrote in a press release Thursday. “Both candidates claimed the support of 12 percent of likely GOP voters, coming second to President Donald Trump, who maintains a dominant 48 percent lead.”
Doug Kaplan, founder of Kaplan Strategies, has taken this poll as a sign of the presidential race’s changing shape.
“Ramaswamy outperformed six other hopefuls by more than double, marking a significant surprise in this poll,” he said in the press release. “As we move forward, it’s likely we’ll see the lower-tier candidates drop off… and their voters will either return to Trump or rally behind rising stars like Ramaswamy or DeSantis.”
The Kaplan poll suffers from a small sample and a 3.5 percent margin of error… but other polls have also tracked Ramaswamy’s momentum.
Morning Consult interviewed more than 3,000 potential primary voters earlier this month, and it found Ramaswamy sitting at 8 percent.
Reuters-Ipsos interviewed 1,640 Republicans online, and it tracked Ramaswamy’s support at 9 percent.
Plus, this month’s unscientific survey of Turning Point Action attendees found Trump was the first choice for president for nearly 86% of respondents. Asked to name their second pick, 51% named Vivek Ramaswamy, the millionaire tech entrepreneur who has declined to criticize Trump. (DeSantis last year had been the first choice of 19% of attendees, behind only Trump. This year, he was the first choice of just over 4%.)
The media have taken notice.
“Ramaswamy’s popularity is on the rise,” Morning Consult said in a statement accompanying the poll.
“The 37-year-old self-made rich kid from Ohio (the son of immigrants from India) — whose attacks on “woke corporations” made him a fixture on Fox News before he announced his presidential candidacy on Tucker Carlson’s show — is definitely having a moment,” New York magazine wrote.
Ramaswamy has been campaigning hard. He’s visited Iowa — and New Hampshire — more than any other Republican, according to FiveThirtyEight.
He’s amassed this momentum at an opportune time, before the GOP’s first primary debate on Aug. 23… and some observers are bullish on his prospects.
“Part of Ramaswamy’s appeal to Republican voters has been taking every interview and giving as good as he gets, demonstrating self-confidence and media skills,” Rich Lowry wrote in the pages of the National Review. “Sharp exchanges with Don Lemon on CNN and Chuck Todd on Meet the Press in particular spread widely and generated free-media attention.”
The New York magazine writer even raised a comparison between Ramaswamy and Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, once a presidential candidate himself.
Ramaswamy may chart a path for his campaign next month… after facing DeSantis in a primary debate.
When you don’t let people speak, they scream. When you don’t let people scream, they tear things down. That’s why freedom of speech isn’t just some liberal arts luxury. It’s a precondition for peace. pic.twitter.com/34gK8hcCEj
— Vivek Ramaswamy (@VivekGRamaswamy) December 11, 2022
The Horn editorial team