EXCLUSIVE: Vivek Ramaswamy beats Ron DeSantis for best performance AND tops Donald Trump as the 'real winner' in poll of the Republican debate
• J.L. Partners asked 504 Republicans for their view of the first Republican debate
• They said Vivek Ramaswamy was a narrow winner over Ron DeSantis
• Some 28 percent said he was the best performer, pipping DeSantis by one point

By ROB CRILLY, SENIOR U.S. POLITICAL REPORTER FOR DAILYMAIL.COM IN MILWAUKEE, WISCONSIN
UPDATED: 15:42, 24 August 2023

Biotech entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy won the first Republican 2024 debate on Wednesday evening, according to an exclusive poll for DailyMail.com, beating out Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis by the narrowest of margins.

He put up a combative performance, trading blows with opponents such as former Vice President Mike Pence who seemed intent on cutting him down to size.

It made him the focal point for much of the debate.

That was enough for 28 percent of respondents to say that the 38-year-old rising star had the best night, pipping DeSantis who scored 27 percent.

Former Vice President Mike Pence came third, with 13 percent, followed by Sen. Tim Scott on eight percent, and former South Carolina governor Nikki Haley on seven percent.


J.L. Partners conducted an online poll of 504 registered Republicans who watched the Wednesday's debate. The results come with a margin of error of 4.4 percent


A DailyMail.com poll found that Vivek Ramaswamy (right) narrowly edged out Ron DeSantis as the top performer in the first Republican poll on Wednesday evening

Former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie scored four percent, North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum took three percent (and appeared on stage despite tearing his Achilles tendon), and former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson took two percent.

James Johnson, of J.L. Partners who carried out the poll, said three candidates could be satisfied with their night's work.

'First and foremost, Vivek Ramaswamy, who has inserted himself onto the national stage and narrowly won the debate with Republican voters,' he said.

'Second, Ron DeSantis, who nearly topped the poll and has very much kept his campaign alive and defied write-offs about his debate performance.

'Third, Mike Pence, who voters put in third place and who may now be asserting himself as the leading anti-Trump candidate in the race.'

J.L. Partners conducted an online poll to reach 504 registered Republicans who watched the debate. The results come with a margin of error of 4.4 percent.

When they included the absent Donald Trump in questions, Ramaswamy still won. Some 22 percent of respondents said he was the 'real winner,' compared with 20 percent who plumped for Trump.

'Just getting warmed up,' said Tricia McLaughlin, spokeswoman for Ramaswamy.

The result reflects how Ramaswamy's outsider message has made him the surprise package of the race so far. His numbers have surged in national polls to the point where some surveys put him in second place ahead of DeSantis.


Ramaswamy still came out just on top when Donald Trump was added into the mix. He managed to dominate headlines even by staying away from the debate


Eight candidates took the stage in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, as they battle it out for the Republican 2024 nomination. Former President Donald Trump stayed away


Trump instead sat for an interview with Tucker Carlson at his Bedminster golf course earlier this week. It was broadcast on Wednesday evening

Wednesday was also billed as a make-or-break moment for DeSantis, a chance to reboot his campaign after weeks of dipping poll numbers and negative headlines.

The results suggest he did not make any mistakes but has yet to cement his position as the candidate most likely to overtake frontrunner Donald Trump.

His campaign manager James Uthmeier said DeSantis had managed to stay above the fray of squabbling rivals.

'While other candidates attacked each other, Governor DeSantis stayed focused on the American people and fighting for their future with a clear vision to fix our economy, secure the border, empower parents, back law enforcement, and stand up to the leftist elites and the DC establishment,' he said.

He may have risen above the fray, but at times that meant he was relegated to onlooker while Ramaswamy was in the thick of things.

'The real choice we face in this primary is this: Do you want a Super PAC puppet?' asked Ramaswamy, as he took on his opponents. 'Or do you want a patriot who speaks the truth? Do you want incremental reform, which is what you're hearing about, or do you want revolution?'


At times DeSantis ended up an onlooker as the two candidates either side of him traded blows


Ramaswamy also managed to use the primetime stage to introduce himself to an audience that might not have heard of him before


Ron DeSantis gets his makeup touched up during a commercial break

But those punches also made him a target.

'Now is not the time for on-the-job training,' said Pence, who tried to position himself as the most experienced candidate in the field.

'We don't need to bring in a rookie. We don't need to bring in people without experience.'

Christie, who has centered his campaign on attacking Trump, also weighed in. He updated his famous 2016 attack on Marco Rubio, slamming Ramaswamy as 'a guy who sounds like ChatGPT.'

And Haley, who was United Nations ambassador under Trump, clashed with him over his failure to back Ukraine in its war with Russia.

'You have no foreign policy experience and it shows,' she told him.

But the blows only made Ramaswamy stronger, according to his allies.


'You have no foreign policy experience and it shows,' said Nikki Haley, former US ambassador to the UN under Donald Trump

'Seven career politicians took a swing at Vivek and they couldn't knock him down,' said his senior adviser Chris Grant.

Not only that but he managed to use the debate to introduce himself to an audience that might not have heard of him before.

'First let me address the question that is on everybody's mind at home tonight. Who the heck is this skinny guy with a funny last name and what the heck is he doing in the middle of the debate stage?,' he said during his first answer.

'I am not a politician. You are right about that. I am an entrepreneur. My parents came to this country with no money 40 years ago. I have gone on to found multibillion dollar companies.'

Jason Miller, senior adviser to Trump, said the performance was enough to kill off the DeSantis campaign.

'We saw Vivek Ramaswamy leapfrog Ron DeSanctus in real time this evening,' he said in the spin room after the debate.

'I think we're gonna wake up tomorrow and Ramaswamy is comfortably in second place.'

Source

EXCLUSIVE: Vivek Ramaswamy beats Ron DeSantis for best performance AND tops Donald Trump as the 'real winner' in poll of the Republican debate.

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