Ramaswamy Rises in Polls, Announces He’s Qualified for First RNC Debate

Vivek Ramaswamy’s campaign said he has cleared the required donor threshold set by the Republican National Committee to qualify for the first presidential debate.

The Details: Ramaswamy’s campaign told Semafor (Lean Left bias) it met the required 40,000 donor mark back in May and has over 65,000 unique donors to date. He has also met the polling requirement, which requires a candidate to have at least 1% in three separate independent RNC-recognized surveys.

For Context: Despite not registering on polls immediately after he announced his campaign, the self-proclaimed political outsider enjoyed a surge in ratings this week. Ramaswamy polled as high as 12% in one poll by Kaplan Strategies, tying Florida Governor Ron DeSantis for second place. Of Republican presidential hopefuls, Ramaswamy has been one of the most defensive of Former President Donald Trump, despite being in the race against him.

Key Quote: On Friday, Ramaswamy told NBC News (Lean Left bias), “Here’s a reality about my friend, Donald Trump. I respect what he did, but it’s just a fact, it’s not even his fault — 30 percent of this country becomes psychiatrically ill when he’s in the White House. I don’t think we will have that same effect on people, and that is how we go further with our own agenda.”

How The Media Covered It: Sources across the spectrum covered Ramaswamy’s qualification for the debate and recent surge in the polls similarly.