Just in time for the Iowa Caucus GOP candidate Vivek Ramaswamy is challenging the status quo on campaign advertising. As first covered by NBC News on December 26th, the unconventional candidate is going a different way with his campaign. Pulling the plug on radio and TV ads, Ramaswamy’s campaign spokeswoman Tricia McLaughlin explained the move as just another of his swift and targeting moves to win.
Ramaswamy campaign CEO Ben Yoho spoke with Breitbart News about the change.
“All we’ve done is reallocated the money we had budgeted for broadcast and cable to those higher tactics that we’ve found to get our voters out, which allows us to do a lot more of it because they are cheaper things, like addressable advertising is significantly cheaper than broadcast advertising. So we’re definitely using the data in that vein, but those cost savings, if you will, just allow us to do many more treatments, whether it be paid phones, paid doors, text messages, addressable ACR advertising, mail…we just need them to show up and do the damn thing on January 15.”
He didn’t mince words about their targeted audience. Yoho and Ramaswamy make no bones about it, they want the little guy. Not just the ones who always turn out to vote and are very party-strong. They want the Joe Everyman who would vote for Ramaswamy if you can get him to go. As they, like many of Ramaswamy’s rally attendants, are unregistered voters, the challenger is an uphill battle.
“And we know who those folks are. They’re there; the shock-the-world opportunity is there if we can get them to actually fulfill their commitment and show up at 7:00 p.m. on January 15. We’re going to spend every last resource we have in trying to do just that, and that is certainly much easier to do in a precision way than casting this wide net on broadcast.”
Getting these people to turn out and vote for a man who has never held political office and whose only real record is in running a successful pharmaceutical company is a difficult task. Ramaswamy has seemingly come out of nowhere and is the dark horse (no pun intended) in the race. His decision to go away from TV advertising after already dumping nearly $94 million on it is unique in a way many wouldn’t expect. If anything, this could give the American people a reason to sit up and pay attention.
Returning to the historic ways of campaigning is something nobody expected. Knocking on doors, handing out fliers, posting posters, and holding smaller rallies is something that we stopped seeing for anything beyond a Senator about four decades ago. By bringing back the tactics that made people pay attention pre-internet, Ramaswamy is making the seniors and others notice someone else besides Trump.
While The Donald is still holding a commanding lead in the polls, many believe Ramaswamy can close this gap, especially with Trump bucking debates and facing an ever-increasing litany of court cases. With Trump potentially being ruled off the CO ballot pending a Supreme Court ruling, Ramaswamy has a clearer than ever pathway to challenge him for the ticket.
Let’s face the facts here. Former South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley was recently asked about the Civil War and left out slavery. A point that was a big contributor to the Civil War. Her inability to bring that up left many wondering how little she knew about her home state, Meanwhile, current Florida Governor Ron DeSantis has nothing more to offer than his COVID policies and a box full of misinformation about drug policy and immigration.
Suffice it to say, Ramaswamy is the only formidable opponent to Trump. If the former President is kept off the ballot or convicted in any of these lawsuits, he could quickly find himself the clear frontrunner. With the Democrats already on the ropes with Biden, he represents the grassroots weapon for change we have needed as a party. Bringing things back to when America was truly great is something Trump pledged to do and fell short. Now on January 15th, Ramaswamy is promising it’s his turn to do it right.
