feels like he is gaining momentum. I mean, there’s really no question that Trump is lapping any competitor right now and he is the prohibitive favorite.
Still, there is a lot of “headspace” for Ramaswamy. He seems to have overtaken DeSantis in the polls, and that’s a pretty big milestone. It may well be that the DeSantis boomlet is over, or is at least starting to sputter. His ship is taking on water, and it’s not at all clear to me that he can plug the holes.
Trump’s name recognition is a HUGE leg up–he is a cultural figure, a long-time celebrity, and a former President who was transparently cheated out of a second term. I’m not at all sure that advantage is even surmountable. Smart money is on Trump.
But it’s early, yet…
The Ramaswamy interview with Tucker Carlson may well have been the turning point. Tucker interviewed virtually all the major candidates, and some (like Mike Pence) crashed and burned in a horrific fireball. Pence will never recover. Not that he had a snowball’s chance in Hell anyway!
But Ramaswamy did well and came out of it looking very good. A lot of people (like me) who had never seen him or paid him much attention came away pretty dang impressed.
I’m not at all convinced that Ramaswamy will prevail. In fact, I doubt it. But now I am sure that he’s legit…