Vivek Ramaswamy could be the GOP’s Andrew Yang — and that’s a good thing!
Tiana Lowe
The first Republican to announce his 2024 bid was the 45th president of the United States. The second was the nation’s former Ambassador to the United Nations and the two-term governor of South Carolina. The third is Vivek Ramaswamy, a political neophyte who, at 37, is barely eligible to run for leader of the free world.
And yet, all things considered, Ramaswamy will probably make the primary race — and the inevitable Republican nominee — more interesting to watch, more accountable to Republicans, and more formidable in a general election. Far from being a useless spoiler, Ramaswamy is already shaping up to be the GOP’s Andrew Yang.
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As you may recall, entrepreneur Yang embarked on his “longer than longshot” bid for the Democratic presidential nomination in 2020 with the top campaign priority of pushing a universal basic income. While Yang couldn’t overcome the establishment appeal of Joe Biden, this virtually unknown businessman managed to outlast three senators, three governors, five representatives, and two mayors to become the last nonwhite candidate on the Democratic debate stage, no small feat in the identity politics-minded party.
Furthermore, Yang became a household name while running an unusually wonky message. His flagship issues such as Universal Basic Income, ranked choice voting, and climate change, are now mainstream subjects of debate and relatively popular among Democrats and centrists. Most crucially, Yang managed to change the conversation.
Ramaswamy is an even more successful entrepreneur than Yang, and he is starting off with much greater name recognition within his party, which is unique in its embrace of “outsiders.” Ramaswamy, also an Ivy-educated policy wonk, has his own share of pet issues that deserve more Republican action, among them central bank digital currencies, affirmative action and the unaccountability of the executive bureaucracy, and our economic entanglement with China.
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Unlike, say, a former president or a sitting senator, an actual Beltway outsider — Ramaswamy is born and based in Ohio — has more ground to stand on when they criticize the “establishment,” and while serious contenders may write off his run as a money-making gimmick, Ramaswamy’s policy positions and overall perspective of the political moment are far more in line with the median Republican voter than a Larry Hogan, a Rick Scott, or a Lauren Boebert.
By the end of the year, if Republican candidates are really serious about beating Biden, the presumptive Democratic nominee, that necessitates letting someone beat Trump, who might be the only candidate incapable of beating the sitting president, according to the polling. But until then, Ramaswamy’s run could add a lot more intellect and elevate the GOP debate for the better of the party.