A new Echelon Insightspoll has entrepreneur and presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy in a strong third place position, only six points behind Florida Governor Ron DeSantis.
Former President Donald J. Trump clocks in first with 49 percent of the vote. DeSantis took second place at 19 percent. This is the first national primary poll where Trump has seen himself below the magic majority mark. That means, should all that don’t support him in this poll coalesce behind one person, that candidate could win with 51 percent of the vote.
Still, DeSantis’s 16 percent shows a sign of decline for the candidate running to Trump’s right. Other polls this month, like Fox News and Quinnipiac, had DeSantis over 20 percent. He’s not gaining momentum.
But this poll only spells good news for Ramaswamy. There’s something in the water here. He got some serious attention after a contentious exchange with former CNN anchor Don Lemon on his show in April. Lemon was pressing the candidate about his speech warning that Biden and the Democratic party want to put black citizens back in chains.
“You’re sitting here whatever ethnicity you are ‘splaining to me what it’s like to be Black in America,” Lemon said. Ramaswamy had a quick retort that went viral. “Whatever ethnicity I am? I’ll tell you what I am. I’m an Indian American. I’m proud of it. But I think we should have this debate. Black, white doesn’t matter.”
It was that exchange, among a few others, the New York Times infers, that led to Lemon’s axing from the network. After that moment, Ramaswamy went on a popular podcast tour. While the mainstream media wasn’t covering him in the same way they were covering DeSantis, or even South Carolina Senator Tim Scott, internet listeners liked what they heard.
He also has a unique niche issue that’s been getting him some traction. Looking at the success of privately-funded charter schools, Ramaswamy wants to eliminate the Department of Education. And he just got word that he qualifies for the August 23rd primary debate.
His candidacy is interesting because he’s one of the many Trump-alternatives to refuse to fully criticize the former president. Ramaswamy went as far as to say he’d even pardon Trump directly should be found guilty in his federal trial. Former New Jersey Governor Chris Christie, meanwhile, who called Trump and his entire family “grifters”, only finds himself at 2 percent in the polls.
Voters might be hungry for a Trump-alternative, someone who shares his policies and appreciates his presidency, but who connects well with voters. DeSantis has stumbled on the stump as he comes off as robotic and stiff. Ramaswamy, however, continues to impress. See for yourself by watching his informative appearance on PBD:
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