DES MOINES, Iowa —
Entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy has dropped out from the 2024 presidential race following a fourth-place finish in the 2024 Iowa Caucus.
Ramaswamy finished behind Trump, DeSantis and Haley. At 93% of precincts reported, he garnered more than 8,000 votes, about 7.7% of more than 105,000 ballots cast, according to the Associated Press. He came out of the race with a single delegate.
"As of this moment, we are going to suspend this presidential campaign," Ramaswamy said in his concession speech. "There was no path for me to be the next president."
After announcing the suspension of his campaign, Ramaswamy offered his endorsement to Trump.
Ramaswamy had spent a great deal of time campaigning in Iowa, visiting all 99 counties in Iowa twice. However, according to RealClearPolitics, Ramaswamy had only been polling at 4.3% in the weeks leading up to the caucus.
Ramaswamy had been noted as performing well during the first GOP presidential debate in August of last year but had mixed results in the following debates.
Throughout his candidacy, Ramaswamy has suggested that he would continue many of Trump’s policies if elected president, even praising the former president.
At a Florida GOP event in November, Ramaswamy said of Trump, “I have respected Donald Trump more than anybody else in this race because he was the best president of the 21st century,” Ramaswamy said. “I said that before, and I will say it again because it’s the right thing to do. We will honor that legacy.”
Ramaswamy founded the biopharmaceutical company Roviant Sciences in 2014. The 38-year-old entrepreneur kicked off his presidential campaign in February 2023 and has since built a following amongst conservatives on his ‘anti-woke’ platform and opposition to ESG business principles.
Looking ahead to the New Hampshire Primary on Jan. 23, Ramaswamy is polling at 5%, trailing Trump, Hailey and DeSantis.
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