Breakfast with Vivek
Vivek Ramaswamy was the third Presidential candidate to visit our little town in northwest Iowa. And it wasn't a short one either.
Ramaswamy stopped by during the breakfast time, so his campaign paid for a breakfast spread for anyone attending. Paying for meals seems to be a trend among the business candidates as Ryan Binkley did something similar. When Ramaswamy stopped by an Orange City, Iowa, Pizza Ranch a few weeks ago, he also paid for everyone to eat at the buffet that time too.
Ramaswamy spent nearly two hours starting with a short speech followed up by a lot of questions and answers. The questions were not softballs either. He answered all kinds of topics: from entitlements and debt to foreign policy and immigration, to free speech and even his own religion. His answers were thorough and beyond complete. None of his answers were disappointing to me. He was not in a hurry to leave and kept answering questions even when most other candidates would have to leave to get to the next stop. I believe his only stop of the day was in our little town.
The room was decently filled with at least 50 local Iowans hoping to get an in-person feel for this outsider candidate. At the end of the stop, he waited for each person to get a chance to talk to him in person and take any pictures they desired.
If Trump were not in the race, I could easily seem Ramaswamy gaining many of the Trump supporters as a secondary choice. He is a motivational type of speaker filled with data. I personally think he has potential, but my biggest drawback to Vivek Ramaswamy is the same issue I had with Trump his first run. He doesn't have any political record to look at and see if he would actually do what he says he will do. His debate performances also worried me about how he might interact with others.
One thing I am now certain about, more so than I was before I met him, is that I don't think there is much of a chance that Ramaswamy will be dropping out of the race before Iowans vote in January. So I need to update my list of candidate drop out chances.
Donald Trump - 0% Chance to Drop Out
Ron DeSantis - 0% Chance to Drop Out
Vivek Ramaswamy - 15% Chance to Drop Out
Nikki Haley - 20% Chance to Drop Out
Chris Christie - 35% Chance to Drop Out
Ryan Binkley - 40% Chance to Drop Out
Tim Scott - 50% Chance to Drop out
Doug Burgum - 90% Chance to Drop Out
Asa Hutchinson - 95% Chance to Drop Out
Mike Pence - October 28, 2023
Larry Elder - October 26, 2023
Perry Johnson - October 20, 2023
Corey Stapleton - October 13, 2023
Will Hurd - October 9, 2023
Francis Suarez - August 29, 2023
Today, we also received three more postcard mailings. One from the anti-Trump group, Finish the Fight. Another from the anti-DeSantis/pro-Trump group MAGA, Inc. The third came from Nikki Haley's SFA Fund group. The look and feel of the Nikki Haley postcard is totally different than anything before. And so we are on a two postcard trend of not mentioning "China". This one focuses on age as a factor in career politics.
Snail Mail Totals So Far in 2024
18 - Never Back Down, Inc. (Pro-DeSantis)
17 - Stand For America Fund, Inc. (Pro-Haley)
11 - Best of America PAC (Pro-Burgum)
11 - AFP Action (Anti-Trump)
9 - Make America Great Again, Inc. (Anti-DeSantis / Pro-Trump)
7 - Opportunity Matters Fund, Inc. (Pro-Scott)
5 - Perry Johnson for President Inc.
4 - Make America Great Again Action, Inc. (Pro-Trump)
4 - Finish the Fight (Anti-Trump)
2 - American Exceptionalism PAC (Pro-Ramaswamy)
2 - Vivek 2024
1 - Doug Burgum for America
1 - Donald J Trump for President 2024, Inc
Ramaswamy stopped by during the breakfast time, so his campaign paid for a breakfast spread for anyone attending. Paying for meals seems to be a trend among the business candidates as Ryan Binkley did something similar. When Ramaswamy stopped by an Orange City, Iowa, Pizza Ranch a few weeks ago, he also paid for everyone to eat at the buffet that time too.
Ramaswamy spent nearly two hours starting with a short speech followed up by a lot of questions and answers. The questions were not softballs either. He answered all kinds of topics: from entitlements and debt to foreign policy and immigration, to free speech and even his own religion. His answers were thorough and beyond complete. None of his answers were disappointing to me. He was not in a hurry to leave and kept answering questions even when most other candidates would have to leave to get to the next stop. I believe his only stop of the day was in our little town.
The room was decently filled with at least 50 local Iowans hoping to get an in-person feel for this outsider candidate. At the end of the stop, he waited for each person to get a chance to talk to him in person and take any pictures they desired.
If Trump were not in the race, I could easily seem Ramaswamy gaining many of the Trump supporters as a secondary choice. He is a motivational type of speaker filled with data. I personally think he has potential, but my biggest drawback to Vivek Ramaswamy is the same issue I had with Trump his first run. He doesn't have any political record to look at and see if he would actually do what he says he will do. His debate performances also worried me about how he might interact with others.
One thing I am now certain about, more so than I was before I met him, is that I don't think there is much of a chance that Ramaswamy will be dropping out of the race before Iowans vote in January. So I need to update my list of candidate drop out chances.
Donald Trump - 0% Chance to Drop Out
Ron DeSantis - 0% Chance to Drop Out
Vivek Ramaswamy - 15% Chance to Drop Out
Nikki Haley - 20% Chance to Drop Out
Chris Christie - 35% Chance to Drop Out
Ryan Binkley - 40% Chance to Drop Out
Tim Scott - 50% Chance to Drop out
Doug Burgum - 90% Chance to Drop Out
Asa Hutchinson - 95% Chance to Drop Out
Today, we also received three more postcard mailings. One from the anti-Trump group, Finish the Fight. Another from the anti-DeSantis/pro-Trump group MAGA, Inc. The third came from Nikki Haley's SFA Fund group. The look and feel of the Nikki Haley postcard is totally different than anything before. And so we are on a two postcard trend of not mentioning "China". This one focuses on age as a factor in career politics.
Snail Mail Totals So Far in 2024
18 - Never Back Down, Inc. (Pro-DeSantis)
17 - Stand For America Fund, Inc. (Pro-Haley)
11 - Best of America PAC (Pro-Burgum)
11 - AFP Action (Anti-Trump)
9 - Make America Great Again, Inc. (Anti-DeSantis / Pro-Trump)
7 - Opportunity Matters Fund, Inc. (Pro-Scott)
5 - Perry Johnson for President Inc.
4 - Make America Great Again Action, Inc. (Pro-Trump)
4 - Finish the Fight (Anti-Trump)
2 - American Exceptionalism PAC (Pro-Ramaswamy)
2 - Vivek 2024
1 - Doug Burgum for America
1 - Donald J Trump for President 2024, Inc