New Hampshire’s supporters of Donald Trump have a new favorite pick for vice president: they want youthful anti-woke entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy on the ticket.
According to a new DailyMail.com poll, he is ousting Arizona’s election-denying Kari Lake in the affection of the MAGA world.
Ramaswamy, who bombarded the early state primary with grassroots events, claims 19 percent of the VP vote ahead of South Carolina Senator Tim Scott and Lake, who both get 17 percent.
It comes amid reports that Trump has cooled off on Lake and days after he singled out Ramaswamy and Scott for praise as he floated the idea that he could pick one of his opponents as his eventual running mate.
For his part, Ramaswamy told DailyMail.com that he is in the race to win the prize, not settle for a second prize.
JL Partners polled 591 registered Republicans and others who planned to call for a primary vote July 13-20. The results have a margin of error of 3.9 percent
South Carolina Senator Tim Scott and entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy are among the top vice presidential picks for Republican voters in New Hampshire as both campaigns gain ground
Either way, it shows early state momentum for the likes of Scott and Ramaswamy, said James Johnson, who led the JL Partners survey.
“While Vivek Ramaswamy is only the choice of four percent of New Hampshire primary voters for the presidential nomination, he has risen to the top of the table for who Trump voters want as the GOP nominee for vice president,” he said.
He’s not alone in the fray – Kari Lake is hot on his heels, as is Tim Scott.
But while voters settle for a top two of Trump and DeSantis in the presidential race, he appears to be making headway in the race for Trump’s attention.
“Whether he would take such a job — or whether Trump would want someone with big ideas of his own in the role — remains to be seen.”
The former president told Fox News last week that he was impressed with the field that ran into him.
“I think Vivek did a really good job, honestly. I think others have done well,” he said.
The numbers are a bit different if all likely Republican voters get the question. Then Scott comes out on top with 19 percent, ahead of Lake at 16, former US Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley at 15 and Ramaswamy at 13 percent.
If all Republicans — not just Trump supporters — are taken into account, then Senator Tim Scott is the favored pick for vice president, beating his rival Nikki Haley of South Carolina
Haley and former Republican nominee for Arizona governor Kari Lake are also in the mix
Ramaswamy said he may be polling some numbers now, but he had no intention of settling for any kind of consolation prize.
“I am in this race to win. I expect we will win,” he told Dailymail.com in an interview on Thursday in New Hampshire. “And that’s exactly what I think will happen steadily over time.”
He said other candidates spent a lot of money on TV advertising while he played a long game in the early states.
He was speaking shortly after addressing voters at the New Hampshire Institute of Politics at St Anselm College, a must-visit place for presidential candidates.
An aide said it was his 150th grassroots event since the launch of his long-running campaign.
“I’ve been to New Hampshire and Iowa more than any other Republican candidate,” he said.
“That lays the groundwork when we get into January, December. We are well funded and then there will be an attack, but I don’t think those are dollars well spent right now.”
Scott’s campaign is gaining momentum and he is tied for third in New Hampshire. Ramaswamy scores four percent, but he says the best is yet to come
The battle for the Republican nomination is currently a race between Trump and DeSantis. But both have seen rivals eat into their numbers among New Hampshire’s primary voters
And while his local number may be at four percent, he said his national polls were much better.
On Thursday, a Kaplan Strategies poll showed him tied for second with Florida Governor Ron DeSantis by 12 points. Trump leads the field with 48 percent.
Still, some of his supporters are already excited about the prospect of him running on a Trump ticket.
“Vivek is the voice that needs to be heard for people who can’t stand Trump,” said graphic designer Laurent, who attended the St Anselm College event but declined to give his middle name.
“A vast majority of people just can’t stand Trump, even if he makes sense.
“Vivek will get those people because the message is very aligned.”
The study for DailyMail.com was conducted from July 13 to July 20 and has a margin of error of 3.9 percent.
Overall, it appeared that Trump has been losing ground with New Hampshire’s Republicans since April. He received the support of 42 percent of respondents, compared to 51 percent.
And the results mean even more bad news for Ron DeSantis’ failed campaign.
Although it remains in second place, it has dropped from 18 percent in April to 15 percent now.