GOP candidate Vivek Ramaswamy, a mogul in the biotech industry, is planning to start an ad campaign in early primary states New Hampshire and Iowa following the third Republican primary debate next week.
The ad buy, according to his campaign, is expected to reach eight figures. It will focus heavily on these early-voting states, hoping to boost support for Ramaswamy, who – like all other GOP candidates – is heavily trailing front-runner Donald Trump in the race.
The campaign for the 38-year-old Ramaswamy has said that releasing such a major advertising buy before this point would’ve been “stupid” for him, even though his polling numbers nationally have averaged around 4.6%.
Tricia McLaughlin, who serves as a spokeswoman for Ramaswamy’s campaign, recently told The New York Post:
“Vivek is making an eight-figure buy across Iowa and New Hampshire. Vivek’s not an idiot. Anytime earlier would have been stupid. And this is just the beginning.
“They will start advertising on Saturday. This will include broadcast, cable, radio, digital and direct mail. If people thought he was aggressive with events leading up to this, stay tuned for post-November 8.”
That last statement was an allusion to when the Republican National Committee will host its next debate in Miami.
Compared to the total spending of the campaigns and PACs aligned with other GOP candidates such as Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, former South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley, North Dakota Governor Doug Burgum, South Carolina Senator Tim Scott and Trump, Ramaswamy’s campaign and American Exceptionalism PAC – which is aligned with him – have thus far spent much less money on campaign advertising.
AdImpact data has reported that all of those other candidates have spent at least double what Ramaswamy’s campaign and his PAC have spent on advertising to this point.
RealClearPolitics reported that on September 21, Ramaswamy hit his highest national polling average to date, at 8.1%. But, since that time, he’s been on a steady decline.
He currently finds himself in the fourth poll position behind Trump (59.3%), DeSantis (13.4%) and Haley (8.3%).
Ramaswamy is one spot lower in both New Hampshire and Iowa, where he sits behind former New Jersey Governor Chris Christie and Scott, respectively.
One ad that Ramaswamy’s campaign intends to run shows him looking right into the camera and then saying:
“My name is Vivek Ramaswamy, and I speak the truth.
“There are two genders. Reverse racism is racism. An open border is not a border. 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.”
While Ramaswamy’s campaign is planning to ramp up its ad spending, the campaigns for the other major GOP candidates are planning to do the same.
DeSantis and his super PACs have spent a little more than $30 million to date, and they’re considering spending even more.
