Sergio Flores/Reuters
URBANDALE, Iowa—Before talking to a crowd of Iowa retirees about dismantling the “deep state” for what was, by his estimate, his 390th stump speech in the state, Vivek Ramaswamy allowed himself a moment of reflection on what had changed since he launched his bid for president.
Beaming at the crowd inside the farm-themed restaurant where he held his first Iowa event, Ramaswamy proudly remarked that it was “a little more packed this time.”
If that was all that had changed, the 38-year old biotech millionaire might have been the biggest winner of the 2024 GOP primary not named Donald Trump. Although he’s not expected to land much more than 10 percent of the caucus vote on Monday, Ramaswamy began the primary as a political nobody and was poised to end it as a potential Cabinet pick for Trump.