Vivek Ramaswamy at CPAC in Dallas, Texas, on August 5, 2022.
Brian Snyder/Reuters
Vivek Ramaswamy alleged that a consultant offered him the chance to buy his way onto a CPAC straw poll.
He claimed the consultant said he would rank second if he paid “a few hundred thousand dollars.”
Ramaswamy only received 1% in the unscientific poll, with Donald Trump winning by a large margin.
Vivek Ramaswamy, a biotech millionaire turned longshot candidate for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination, claimed on Monday that he was offered the chance of a second-place finish at a Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) straw poll.
The only catch: he’d have to pay hundreds of thousands of dollars.
Appearing on Fox Business, Ramaswamy alleged that a consultant called his campaign shortly after he declared his candidacy on February 21.
Ramaswamy alleged that the consultant, who he did not name, said: “Hey, we can get you up to number two on there if you pay a few hundred thousand dollars.”
—Vivek Ramaswamy (@VivekGRamaswamy) March 6, 2023
Ramaswamy, who is a relative unknown in what is likely to be a crowded field of Republicans, said he was “shocked.”
Asked if he agreed to pay to be placed second in the straw poll, he responded: “Absolutely not.”
Ramaswamy, who has never served in political office, received just 1% of the vote in the unscientific straw poll of potential Republican primary candidates. Former President Donald Trump came in first with 62%, with Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, Trump’s likely main rival, trailing him in second at 20%.
Perry Johnson, a millionaire from Michigan who announced his candidacy last week, came in third with 5% of the vote. He placed higher than former Vice President Mike Pence and former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley.
Ramaswamy added in a later tweet of the Fox Business exchange that his “#1 promise” would be to expose corruption in the political process.
Insider contacted Ramaswamy asking for further information on the allegation, but did not immediately receive a response.
CPAC also did not respond to Insider’s request for comment.
According to Politico, a Ramaswamy aide said they recalled the phone call offer. The aide spoke on condition of anonymity and declined to provide the name of the consultant, fearing they would face retribution, the media outlet reported.
The aide claimed the consultant offered to “get tickets and bus a bunch of people in for the straw poll” if they paid “upward of $100,000,” per Politico.
The aide added: “I was taken aback, because I’ve never been to CPAC before, and it’s very activist driven but I think if any of them knew it was an artificial poll, they’d be pretty pissed about that.”