Entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy, who found out Monday that his campaign energy was not returned by Iowa voters, ended his Republican presidential campaign late that night.
According to a report in The New York Times with 95 percent of the results from the Republican Iowa caucuses totaled, Ramaswamy polled 8,449 votes, 7.7 percent of the total, to end up a distant fourth behind former President Donald Trump, who was at 51 percent of the votes cast.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, with 23,240 votes or 21.2 percent of the vote, was in second place. Former UN Ambassador and South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley was third with 21,085 votes, which amounted to 19.1 percent of the total.
Ramaswamy said he would support Trump in the coming election.
“This entire campaign is about speaking the TRUTH,” he posted on X.
“We did not achieve our goal tonight & we need an America-First patriot in the White House. The people spoke loud & clear about who they want,” he wrote.
This entire campaign is about speaking the TRUTH. We did not achieve our goal tonight & we need an America-First patriot in the White House. The people spoke loud & clear about who they want. Tonight I am suspending my campaign and endorsing Donald J. Trump and will do everything…
— Vivek Ramaswamy (@VivekGRamaswamy) January 16, 2024
“Tonight I am suspending my campaign and endorsing Donald J. Trump and will do everything I can to make sure he is the next U.S. President. I am enormously proud of this team, this movement, and our country,” he wrote.
Would Vivek Ramaswamy be a good option for vice president?
“There’s no path for me to be the next president, absent things we don’t want to see happen in this country,” he said in conceding, according to the Des Moines Register.
Though I am upset @VivekGRamaswamy dropped out, it is a class move & will put the pressure on Haley & DeSantis to follow suit. If they don’t, their political careers are shot, if they aren’t already, and their true colors of selfishness & out of touch nature will be apparent.
— Owen Shroyer (@OwenShroyer1776) January 16, 2024
“And I think we’re going to do the right thing for this country. And so I’m going to ask you to follow me in taking our America First movement to the next level,” he said, according to the Associated Press.
Ramaswamy said DeSantis and Haley should “follow suit” and drop out of the contest.
BREAKING: Republican Vivek Ramaswamy has dropped out of the race and has endorsed Donald Trump.
Vivek has a bright future!
“As I’ve said since the beginning, there are two America first candidates in this race and I called Donald Trump to tell him that.”
“I congratulated him… pic.twitter.com/HVBIW7T3q9
— Collin Rugg (@CollinRugg) January 16, 2024
Ramaswamy told his supporters Monday night that his campaign was “founded on speaking the truth not just when it’s easy but when it’s hard,” according to Fox News.
“It is true that we did not achieve the surprise that we wanted to deliver tonight,” Ramaswamy said. “As of this moment, we are going to suspend this presidential campaign.”
“Earlier tonight, I called Donald Trump to tell him that I congratulate him on his victory. And now going forward, he will have my full endorsement for the presidency,” he said.
The next stop in the contest for the GOP presidential nomination is the New Hampshire primary on Jan. 23.
