Ohio entrepreneur and Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy’s campaign is announcing the launch of an 8-figure ad buy in early nominating states Iowa and New Hampshire.
The $10 million-plus ad bombardment is set to begin on Saturday with the first in the series billed as “Truth,” according to the campaign. The multi-media campaign will hit broadcast, cable, radio, digital and direct mail.
“Vivek’s not an idiot. Going up anytime earlier would have been stupid. And this is just the beginning. If people thought he was aggressive with events leading up to this, stay tuned for post-November 8,” said Tricia McLaughlin, Vivek 2024 campaign spokeswoman.
“Truth” is the rallying cry, the central theme, of the campaign to elect Ramaswamy, 38, the first millennial to seek the Republican Party’s presidential nomination.
“My name is Vivek Ramaswamy, and I speak the truth,” he declares in the quick-edit first ad.
The controversial, anti-woke crusader lays the “10 TRUTHs” he’s been hammering for months on the campaign trail, all to an edgy, eclectic guitar-laden soundtrack.
“There are two genders. Reverse racism is racism. An open border is not a border,” Ramaswamy proclaims in the 30-second spot. “Parents determine the education of their children, the nuclear family is the greatest form of governance known to mankind, capitalism lifts us up from poverty, and the U.S. Constitution is the greatest guarantor of freedom in human history.”
The ad blitz is set to take over the early nominating sate media markets just days before next week’s third Republican presidential debate in Miami. Ramaswamy has already met the Republican National Committee’s more stringent requirements to appear on the debate stage, along with Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, former United Nations Ambassador Nikki Haley, and U.S. Senator Tim Scott (R-SC). Former President Donald Trump, who is dominating the Republican presidential primary field in the polls, has declined to attend the debates thus far.
Ramaswamy also has made the cut for the 2023 Presidential Thanksgiving FAMiLY Forum at the Des Moines Marriott Downtown. The event, scheduled for Nov. 17, is one of the last key GOP presidential cattle calls before Iowa’s Jan 15 kickoff caucus. It’s hosted by the FAMiLY Leader Foundation, one of the more influential evangelical Christian organizations in the country.
Trump, DeSantis, Haley, Ramaswamy, and Scott are all expected to attend.
“Truly this is a one-of-a-kind event,” said Bob Vander Plaats, the foundation’s president and CEO. “The Thanksgiving FAMiLY Forum gives us a chance to see what’s in the candidates’ hearts, not just what’s in their plans. And coming shortly before the holiday season, it may be the last, best chance to really understand what makes these leaders tick before Iowa’s first-in-the-nation caucuses.”
Ramaswamy is polling at 4 percent, tied for fourth with former New Jersey Governor Chris Chris Christie, in the latest Des Moines Register/NBC News/Mediacom poll. Trump, at 43 percent, leads the field by 27 percentage points. Haley and DeSantis are tied for second, with 16 percent support, followed by Scott (7 percent).
Nationally, Trump maintains a dominating lead, at 59.3 percent, according to RealClearPolitics average of Republican Primary polls. The former president is followed by DeSantis at 13.4 percent, Haley (8.3 percent), and Ramaswamy (4.6 percent). Former Vice President Mike Pence, who recently dropped out of the GOP presidential nomination chase, was polling at 3.4 percent, followed by Christie (2.3 percent) and Scott (1.7 percent).
Ramaswamy remains confident about his chances in Iowa and New Hampshire, a little more than 70 days before the opening nominating contests.
During a Wednesday campaign event in Windham N.H., Ramaswamy told NBC News that he believes that “if the election was held amongst the subset of people who go to events, I think we’d probably win Iowa, New Hampshire right now.”
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M.D. Kittle is the National Political Editor for The Star News Network.
Photo “Vivek Ramaswamy” by Vivek Ramaswamy.
