URBANDALE, Iowa — Crowds are mobbing Vivek Ramaswamy for photos at his campaign events. And while the Republican presidential candidate is obliging, he’s demanding something in return: voters’ signatures.
“No exceptions! Sign up and take a picture,” Ramaswamy said on Saturday, urging Iowans at a campaign stop to sign a caucus card before they could snap a photo. It’s one of the age-old building blocks of caucus campaigns: cards filled out with supporters’ personal information, allowing campaigns to get back in touch via phone, email or a door knock later. And it’s a relatively new step for Ramaswamy as he tries to capitalize on his attention-grabbing turn at the first GOP presidential debate.
But Ramaswamy’s ask last weekend was largely ignored, with the Iowans in attendance more interested in capturing their moment with the 38-year-old entrepreneur than taking the steps needed to commit to caucusing for him.
The challenge now facing Ramaswamy has bedeviled presidential candidates before: How to take rising interest and attention nationally and translate it into success on the ground in early-voting states. That starts in the first state to vote next year, Iowa, where Ramaswamy has been hiring staff and making repeated visits in the hope of making a splash.
Since the beginning of July, Ramaswamy has hosted the most town hall events in the Hawkeye State among the Republican presidential field, according to an NBC News analysis. He held eight events over two days immediately following last week’s debate, and he will travel to Iowa again this week for four events — followed by 11 scheduled stops in New Hampshire, the next contest on the 2024 calendar.
Ramaswamy spoke to the importance of rallying Iowa caucusgoers in an interview with NBC News, saying “the most influential people in a community are the ones who actually were the ones showing up for the last five months, because they were most plugged in and really earnestly curious about who a new candidate is.”
“Now that many of them are on our side, now they’re actually going to be our multiplier effect in a caucus system,” Ramaswamy continued.
