With Donald Trump’s refusal to attend the Republican Presidential Primary debate, many were curious as to how it would unfold. A lot of eyes were on Ron DeSantis, the Governor of Florida, and how he would hold up under scrutiny. DeSantis has been second in the polls, although his support has been dwindling, which leads to the question of whether or not he remains a legitimate contender. 

However, all preconceived notions of how the debate would play out were thrown out of the window when the relatively unknown biotech billionaire, Vivek Ramaswamy, interjected himself into the discussion so frequently that he dominated the debate. What was so captivating for Republican voters about Ramaswamy during the primary that shot him up in the polls and made him a contender with Ron DeSantis for the number two slot?

The upcoming election cycle is proving to be an extremely polarizing time for the GOP, splitting the party between those who support the actions of Donald Trump and the few who have disavowed him. Some Republicans, such as former New Jersey Governor, Chris Christie, are running on bringing decorum back to the Republican party and distancing themselves from Trump. Yet, Ramaswamy has taken up the opposite stance. Ramaswamy has praised  Trump and appears to be catering to those who voted for Trump in the past or perhaps to secure a position in a potential, future Trump administration.  

Given the fact that Trump was absent from the primary stage, Ramaswamy acted as a “stand-in” for the former President–regurgitating many of the talking points that brought Trump his initial success. Ramaswamy often mentions that he is not from the political world and has had successful business ventures, claiming he would bring a fresh perspective to the “tired” conventions of established politicians. This is of course a strategy used by former President Trump that made him appealing to a large portion of the GOP voter base in the 2016 election 

Ramaswamy is doing everything he can to appeal to the Trump voters. This group tends to be religious–the conservative evangelicals– and constitutes an utterly massive portion of the GOP vote. Although not a practicing Christian himself, Ramaswamy has his eyes set on appealing to this group. 

Ramaswamy does stray too far from Trump when it comes to things like the reduction of trade deficits but, in some areas, he appears to be more extreme. Ramaswamy’s more extreme and off-beat political takes is what seems to have caught the attention of many on both sides of the political spectrum, including his opinions on the legal voting age and the amount of power the federal government should have. 

Dr. Colin Swearingen, Professor of Political Science at John Carroll University, told The Carroll News, “Vivek Ramaswamy is clearly taking the Trump approach to his presidential run. He’s tossing copious amounts of red meat to the base, consistently contradicting his past statements”.

Vivek has expressed interest in increasing the legal voting age from 18 to 25 with the exception of a few stipulations based on military service or a possible civics exam. This is a controversial proposal that would be nearly impossible to achieve and has little support behind it, but it garnered the biotech billionaire a significant amount of attention nonetheless. 

It seems that the people this proposition would affect the most are not in favor. As John Carroll’s own Jimmy Steffen ‘24 commented, “It is difficult enough to vote in this country with voter registration and voter ID laws that raising the voter age to 25 would make something that should be easy and available to everyone, even more difficult”.

When asked about the voting age issue, Dr. Swearingen stated, “[Ramaswamy’s] position on the voting age and attempts to appeal to Evangelical voters falls under the Trump campaign strategy. “Voters under the age of 25 tend to lean Democratic, so the GOP base likes the idea of curtailing their voting rights. Ramaswamy also makes numerous appeals in his speeches about God and other religious beliefs”

He continued by theorizing on why he may be using such tactics by stating, “Such tactics may endear himself to parts of the GOP base and with Trump himself, but are unlikely to put him in a position to win the party’s nomination.  It’s worth asking what Ramaswamy’s goal. Perhaps it is only name recognition for the 2028 run?  A last-minute switch to the US Senate race in Ohio? A cabinet position if Trump wins?”

Dr. Swearingen’s statements provide some valuable insights and possible answers as to why Ramaswamy seems to have abruptly changed his stance on certain issues and what he may have to gain from doing so, even if that means retconning his prior opinions.

Small government is a tenured stance of the GOP, but Ramaswamy has taken it a step further by championing the goal of reducing the majority of the federal government’s power to the highest degree possible. Although this is quite an eye-opening and controversial idea for most, it is not surprising given that Ramaswamy has supported the Libertarian party in the past, including outwardly stating that he has voted for the party. 

Whether or not you agree with Ramasway’s extreme politics, it is no secret that his performance in the GOP primary has skyrocketed him to the top of the polls for Republican voters. Ramaswamy has jumped up to 8.7 percent in the polls, compared to Desantis’s 14.5 percent which has dropped significantly from his peak of 39 percent in March 2023. 

8.7 percent may seem relatively low at first glance but, when compared to Donald Trump’s projected 50 percent, the remaining 50 percent is to be divided among nine other potential candidates, meaning Ramaswamy has indeed achieved a significant chunk of the potential vote. 

This leaves Ramaswamy currently in third place for the GOP candidate but, given the fact that DeSantis’s polling numbers have continued to drastically decrease and Ramasway’s have only gone up, the GOP may have found itself a new number two in a controversial outsider.