Ramaswamy popularity slips in post-debate survey
Republican presidential candidate businessman Vivek Ramaswamy speaks during a Republican presidential primary debate hosted by FOX News Channel Wednesday, Aug. 23, 2023, in Milwaukee. (AP Photo/Morry Gash)
2024 GOP presidential candidate and biotech entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy saw his popularity decline in a new post-debate survey of potential primary voters released Tuesday.
The Morning Consult poll showed an increase in Ramaswamy’s unfavorability rating in surveys of nearly 800 potential GOP primary voters taken before and after Wednesday’s first debate of the cycle, which aired on Fox News. The first survey was conducted Aug. 19-20, and the second survey from Aug. 24-27.
Before the debate, Ramaswamy’s unfavorability was at 12 percent, but the post-debate survey showed it spiking to 19 percent, a notable increase outside the 4 percentage-point margin of error.
Ramaswamy’s favorability dipped slightly, with the pre-debate survey showing 55 percent of potential primary voters had a favorable view of him, and the post-debate survey showing 53 percent had a favorable view.
Potential primary voters who said they never heard of Ramaswamy dipped from 21 percent before the debate to 12 percent after it.
The share who said Ramaswamy was the most electable candidate against President Biden fell from 10 percent before the debate to 6 percent after it.
Ramaswamy, who was relatively new to the national GOP political scene, clashed with several more establishment Republicans on the Milwaukee stage, particularly on issues of foreign policy. He also insisted climate change is a “hoax.”
Still, the GOP potential primary voters who tuned in to the debate last week said he was the clear winner on the stage.
Morning Consult conducted a separate survey from Aug. 24-27 in which 72 percent of potential Republican primary voters said Ramaswamy performed “very” or “somewhat” well. That number was higher than the 65 percent who said Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis performed well and the 64 percent who said former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley did so.