In the 2024 US Presidential Elections, Vivek Ramaswamy, aged 38, announced that he was running for president as a Republican after not doing well in Iowa, according to his spokesperson quoted by AFP. Despite his previous endorsement of Donald Trump as the “best president of the 21st century,” Ramaswamy tried to convince Republican voters to choose new leaders and elevate the “America First” agenda.
He ran an eye-catching, attention-grabbing campaign, imitating Trump’s tactics as an outsider. Concurrently, Trump expressed gratitude on his social media platform, Truth Social, following his resounding victory in the Iowa Republican presidential contest.
Ramaswamy acknowledged his campaign’s disappointment and decided to suspend it, stating there was no path for him to become the next president. He officially endorsed Trump, recognizing him as the America First candidate and congratulating him on the victory.
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis secured second place, projected by Edison Research, narrowly surpassing former UN Ambassador Nikki Haley in their competition to become the primary alternative to Trump.
With almost 90% of the expected vote counted, Trump led with 50.9%, while DeSantis had 21.4% and Haley 19.0%, as reported by Edison. This marked a significant victory, with the largest previous margin in an Iowa Republican caucus being 12.8 percentage points in 1988 for Bob Dole.
Whether Trump would surpass the 50% mark, a crucial milestone, remained uncertain, potentially weakening arguments against his unstoppable path to the nomination, according to Reuters. DeSantis and Haley aimed for a robust second-place finish to assure donors and supporters that their challenges to Trump remained viable.
Trump, however, sought to project an aura of inevitability, avoiding debates and steering clear of the typical county-by-county campaigning ahead of the Iowa vote.