News/Commentary

Poll chooses clear winner in GOP primary debate

August 24, 2023 | | Print Article

A Daily Mail poll of those who watched the GOP’s first primary debate is claiming that biotech entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy not only beat Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, he also came out on top over former President Trump.

(Video Credit: Fox News)

Wednesday evening the gloves came off during the debate and Ramaswamy did very well. But then again, so did DeSantis. Both are taking aim at the elephant not in the room, Donald Trump, who is still over 40 points ahead of DeSantis and Ramaswamy according to polls.

This particular poll put out by the Daily Mail called Ramaswamy the winner of the debate by an extremely narrow margin. Both Ramaswamy and DeSantis were targets for the other candidates but neither of them flinched in the least.

According to the poll, 28 percent of respondents said that the 38-year-old conservative had the best night, beating out DeSantis who scored 27 percent.

Former Vice President Mike Pence came in third, with 13 percent. He was followed by Sen. Tim Scott who got eight percent, and former South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley who scored seven percent.

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Former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie only scored four percent and was booed for much of the debate. North Dakota Governor Doug Burgum got three percent and former Arkansas Governor Asa Hutchinson only scored two percent.

Pollster James Johnson of J.L. Partners, who actually conducted the poll, asserted that three candidates stood out.

“First and foremost, Vivek Ramaswamy, who has inserted himself onto the national stage and narrowly won the debate with Republican voters,” he noted, according to the Daily Mail.

“Second, Ron DeSantis who nearly topped the poll and has very much kept his campaign alive and defied write-offs about his debate performance,” Johnson commented.

(Video Credit: Fox News)

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“Third, Mike Pence, who voters put in third place and who may now be asserting himself as the leading anti-Trump candidate in the race,” he remarked, although most of the GOP has written Pence off at this juncture.

The poll was surveyed among 504 registered Republicans who watched the debate. There is a margin error of 4.4 percent.

Shockingly, when Trump was inserted into the questions, Ramaswamy still came out on top. Twenty-two percent of respondents claimed that he was the “real winner” compared to 20 percent who chose Trump. But the kicker is that the former president wasn’t even there for the debate.

“Just getting warmed up,” Tricia McLaughlin, who is a spokeswoman for Ramaswamy, declared according to the Daily Mail.

Ramaswamy has positioned himself as a revolutionary candidate who wants to reinstate the vision of the Founding Fathers. He has painted himself as a political outsider and is very appealing to many conservatives. His poll numbers have surged in national polls with some claiming he has actually taken second place in the race, unseating DeSantis.

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The debate was touted as a make-or-break moment for DeSantis, who rose to the challenge, putting down his detractors. He has been incessantly attacked by the Left and the Right and is still swinging.

DeSantis’ campaign manager James Uthmeier contended that the Florida governor managed to stay above the fray of his battling rivals.

“While other candidates attacked each other, Governor DeSantis stayed focused on the American people and fighting for their future with a clear vision to fix our economy, secure the border, empower parents, back law enforcement, and stand up to the leftist elites and the DC establishment,” he claimed per the Daily Mail.

But Ramaswamy seems to have stolen the spotlight as far as the debate goes.

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“The real choice we face in this primary is this: Do you want a Super PAC puppet?” Ramaswamy asked. “Or do you want a patriot who speaks the truth? Do you want incremental reform, which is what you’re hearing about, or do you want revolution?”

The success and popularity of Ramaswamy made him a target for the other candidates.

“Now is not the time for on-the-job training,” Pence lamely charged. “We don’t need to bring in a rookie. We don’t need to bring in people without experience.”

Christie took a breather from attacking Trump to go after Ramaswamy and got jeered for it. He blasted Ramaswamy as “a guy who sounds like ChatGPT.” That quip bombed as expected.

Haley also took a swipe at Ramaswamy.

“You have no foreign policy experience and it shows,” she informed him, but that didn’t win her points either.

“Seven career politicians took a swing at Vivek and they couldn’t knock him down,” Ramaswamy senior adviser Chris Grant claimed.

Ramaswamy introduced himself to those not familiar with his stances and was warmly received.

“First let me address the question that is on everybody’s mind at home tonight. Who the heck is this skinny guy with a funny last name and what the heck is he doing in the middle of the debate stage?” he asked.

“I am not a politician. You are right about that. I am an entrepreneur. My parents came to this country with no money 40 years ago. I have gone on to found multibillion-dollar companies,” he stated.

Jason Miller, who is a senior adviser to Trump, was evidently impressed.

“We saw Vivek Ramaswamy leapfrog Ron DeSanctus in real time this evening,” he said in the spin room following the debate according to the Daily Mail. “I think we’re gonna wake up tomorrow and Ramaswamy is comfortably in second place.”

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