by Mary Lou Masters
Conservative businessman Vivek Ramaswamy’s campaign said Friday that he set a new fundraising record in the day following the first GOP presidential debate, the Daily Caller News Foundation confirmed Friday.
Ramaswamy first launched his presidential campaign in February in an interview with DCNF co-founder Tucker Carlson, where he pledged to take on America’s “national identity crisis.” The conservative businessman’s campaign said he raised $600,000 Thursday after making his presidential debate debut alongside Republican heavyweights like Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, former Vice President Mike Pence and former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley, where many argued he won the night.
“To come out as the winner tonight when it was my first ever political debate is something that, frankly, exceeded even my own expectations,” Ramaswamy told reporters after the debate. “I think it’s going to be a quick path to getting to a two-horse race between Trump and myself.”
I’m the outsider on this stage. I’m not a politician. My parents came to this country 40 years ago with no money, and I’ve gone on to found multibillion dollar companies. I did it while getting married to my wife Apoorva and raising our two sons. That’s the American Dream. For a… pic.twitter.com/NH0wcuSGh7
— Vivek Ramaswamy (@VivekGRamaswamy) August 24, 2023
Ramaswamy broke from other GOP hopefuls on the debate stage with his outspoken stances on Ukraine funding, climate change and more.
Internet searches for Ramaswamy surged following the debate, exceeding other candidates like Haley and former President Donald Trump, who skipped the event, according to Google Trends. The former president wrote on Truth Social that Ramaswamy had a “big win” with the first debate.
The RealClearPolitics (RCP) average for a 2024 national Republican primary, based on polls conducted between Aug. 10 and Aug. 21, indicates Ramaswamy has 7.2% support, behind only Trump and DeSantis with 55.4% to 14.3%, respectively.
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Mary Lou Masters is a reporter at Daily Caller News Foundation.
Photo “Vivek Ramaswamy” by Vivek Ramaswamy.
