Ramaswamy and the GOP’s also-rans need to bow out now
Eduardo Neret
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After former Vice President Mike Pence’s exit, the GOP primary remains an overstuffed clown car, with nine hopefuls continuing to jockey for the nomination. The crowd is not just unwieldy. It is downright ludicrous — six too many, to be precise.
There are three legitimate contenders, and then there’s the filler: the grifters, the also-rans, the has-beens, and the never-weres. When it comes to viable candidates for the Republican ticket, we have former President Donald Trump, Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL), and former Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley. Like them or not, they have policy ideas, natural Republican constituencies, and plausible pathways to securing the Republican nomination.
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So what about the rest? It’s time they stopped bleeding GOP coffers dry and wasting the electorate’s time. They should show some decorum and exit stage left before they turn the third presidential debate in Miami on Wednesday into another farcical sideshow.
Trump remains the GOP front-runner, for better or worse. His administration had its triumphs, but now he is sidetracked by a fixation on past grievances and a slew of legal battles. Despite his baggage, he remains a political heavyweight.
DeSantis represents a winning brand of populist conservatism, with an enviable gubernatorial track record and a knack for turning the quintessential swing state into a Republican fortress.
And then there’s Haley, who, representing the traditional Bush wing of the GOP, has managed to charm the neocon faction with her hard-line stance on foreign policy, reaping the rewards in recent state polls and initial general election polling versus President Joe Biden.
The remaining six, however, range from the underwhelming to the downright invisible: Sen. Tim Scott’s (R-SC) polling is anemic, unable to break the 5% ceiling. Despite sinking millions into his campaign, he is stuck in the margins, with no clear base of support or defining message.
Gov. Doug Burgum (R-ND) cannot seem to buy a bump in the polls despite his deep pockets and Visa gift card gimmicks. He is a textbook case of wealth not translating into political sway, as evidenced by the lack of recognition even within his home state.
Then we have Vivek Ramaswamy, an enigmatic businessman and obvious fraud who seems more a product of slick marketing than political substance. He has been schmoozing with the Trump camp and trying to carve out a niche in the populist Right. Yet his polling numbers are in free fall, a decline hastened by his public appearances.
Former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie joined the race to serve the role of foil to Trump, but the Christie campaign’s raison d’etre faded the moment Trump made it clear he would be sitting out the primary debates. Former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson’s campaign is puzzling, a cautionary tale of a politician being bled dry by opportunistic consultants. And Dallas-based pastor Ryan Binkley? His candidacy is so nondescript that it might as well be a placeholder in the ballot.
For these six, the primary has become an exercise in futility. Hutchinson, Burgum, and Binkley could not even qualify for the Miami debate, which should be reason enough for them to call it quits. If you cannot meet the Republican National Committee’s lax benchmarks to get on the debate stage, you have no place staying in the primary.
Their continued presence in the race reeks of either staggering denial or self-interest. Some, like Ramaswamy, are possibly leveraging this for future fame and media ventures, having already dabbled unsuccessfully in trying to launch a podcast, as ABC News pointed out.
In fairness, every politician craves the spotlight. But presidential campaigns are not vehicles for personal aggrandizement or financial windfall. When candidates treat them as such, they debase the democratic process and feed into the very spectacle Republicans have spent years criticizing in our liberal adversaries who cozy up to Hollywood elites.
If we genuinely believe the future of the country is at stake, it is time to get serious. We need candidates who are here for the country, not to make a quick buck or to boost their public profile. The GOP must demand that these self-serving long shots step aside.
Pence had the insight to recognize his own dead end and made the honorable choice to withdraw. The path forward for the GOP’s primary is clear, and it is way past time for Ramaswamy, Scott, Christie, Burgum, Hutchinson, and Binkley to face the truth. They have no path to victory and no further business cluttering up the race.
It’s time to trim the fat and let the real contenders take their shots. The future of the party (and potentially America) depends on it. Let’s get it down to the candidates who matter.
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Eduardo Neret is a conservative writer, political commentator, and former producer for Tucker Carlson.