The race for the Republican nomination is underway. It’s not going how everyone expected.
And this underdog Republican gave Trump and DeSantis the shock of their lives.
If you follow the news, you know that the two leading candidates for the Republican nomination are Ron DeSantis and Donald Trump.
The match has been determined since at least last November, when Trump’s endorsed candidates showed lackluster results, while DeSantis and Florida became a Republican stronghold.
Over the past few months, rumors stirred that DeSantis would throw his hat in the ring, with Trump throwing not-so-subtle jabs at the popular Florida Governor.
Then, DeSantis announced his candidacy in late May of this year, and the race was on.
But there are far more candidates than two in the race. Though many are garnering next to no support, one has shot forward into the limelight.
According to the most recent Echelon Insights study, anti-woke businessman Vivek Ramaswamy broke into the double digits in the Republican primary contest.
The poll, like previous national polls, reveals former President Donald Trump with a solid lead in the primary campaign, with 49 percent support.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis trails by 33 points, with only 16 percent support. Ramaswamy is a close third with 10% support, just six points behind DeSantis, making him the only other contender to reach into double digits.
Former Vice President Mike Pence and former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley are tied with 5% support.
South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott has 4% support, followed by former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie with 2% and North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum and Miami Mayor Francis Suarez, each with 1% support.
Ramaswamy appears to be third in battleground states as well. Trump has a majority of support in battleground states, with 56 percent, followed by DeSantis with 22 percent and Ramaswamy with 7%.
The survey was conducted among 1,020 likely voters from June 26-29, 2023, and has a +/- 3.9 percent margin of error.
2024 National Republican Primary:
Trump 49% (+33)
DeSantis 16%
Ramaswamy 10%
Pence 5%
Haley 5%
T. Scott 4%
Christie 2%
Suarez 1%
Burgum 1%
Youngkin 0%
Hutchinson 0%
Perry 0%
Hurd 0%
Elder 0%
.
Head-2-Head:
Trump 60% (+28)
DeSantis 32%.@EchelonInsights, 413 LV, 6/26-29…
— Political Polls (@Politics_Polls) July 4, 2023
Ramaswamy, who has shown a big gain in name recognition and favorability in Morning Consult’s weekly poll, has made headlines after challenging rival presidential contenders to join him in pledging to pardon Trump on his first day in office.
“I challenge every US Presidential candidate to join me in standing for TRUTH. Commit to pardon Donald Trump for these federal charges on Day 1, or explain why you won’t,” Ramaswamy wrote in a social media post on June 13:
I challenge every US Presidential candidate to join me in standing for TRUTH. Commit to pardon Donald Trump for these federal charges on Day 1, or explain why you won’t. No one should hide. Not Biden. Not DeSantis. Not Haley. Not Pence. Not RFK. Not Scott. Not anyone. Principles… pic.twitter.com/qYP3fUrE5R
— Vivek Ramaswamy (@VivekGRamaswamy) June 13, 2023
Pence is among many who have declined to declare if they would pardon Trump, claiming that it is “premature” to have that discussion.
Stay tuned to Prudent Politics.
