The Internet Couldn’t Save Vivek Ramaswamy

On Monday evening, at an elegant and expensive hotel in Des Moines, Iowa, many young voters gathered to listen to Vivek Ramaswamy's last speech as a Republican presidential candidate despite enduring freezing weather.

Ramaswamy expressed his gratitude to his team, supporters who volunteered for his campaign, and to those who tuned in to his livestream. He then halted his campaign, stating that despite their best efforts, they were unable to have the intended impact. Ramaswamy informed his group of followers that it was evident that he would not be able to attain the presidency unless certain unwelcome aspects that exist in society were prevalent.

Ever since Ramaswamy kicked off his campaign in February, his crew made a deliberate effort to get the younger millennial and Gen-Z voters pumped up. These demographics have always been known to support the Democratic party quite strongly, even though most Republican politicians tend to dismiss them. But Ramaswamy's campaign made use of every opportunity on the internet to promote his "anti-woke" platform for the country. This included broadcast appearances on TikTok, Instagram, and podcasts. He also tried to rally the fringe conservative sections of the internet by spreading ideas such as the great replacement conspiracy theory.

During the initiation of our campaign, we established a podcast but uniquely, we began with the employment of production experts instead of political specialists," disclosed a high-ranking member of Ramaswamy's team to WIRED while reflecting on the campaign's digital media plan on Monday evening. "One of our primary recruits was a videographer who shadowed him rigorously throughout the week."

However, it was not sufficient. On Monday night, while millennial indie favorites like the Naked and Famous reverberated through the ballroom's PA, it became evident that presidential campaigns with slim chances cannot solely rely on social media content, even when coupled with relentless on-the-ground efforts. Less than an hour since the caucus doors opened, significant news outlets, such as ABC, CBS, CNN, and NBC, announced that former president Donald Trump won the state. The expected late rally that the Ramaswamy campaign had predicted failed to materialize. As of the time this article was written, Ramaswamy's voter count had amounted to about 8 percent, which was less than half of what Haley's third-place achievement received.

Despite the freezing temperatures from the past weekend, Ramaswamy, a businessperson aged 38, who financed his campaign with the money he gathered from the biotech industry, still persistently shook hands with people while wearing mittens in crowded pizza parlors and American Legion halls. Recently, before arriving at the hotel on Monday night, Ramaswamy successfully completed a remarkable tour around the state that took several months, wherein he held almost 400 events in every county in hopes of surprising the pollsters with more points than Ron DeSantis or Nikki Haley.

However, Ramaswamy's main strategy was to concentrate on his online campaign. Although DeSantis and Haley had comparable in-person audiences, Ramaswamy had greater success on the internet. In between rushing from one campaign event to another, Ramaswamy utilized X live streams to interact with his audience, answering questions or conducting interviews with political creators such as Link Lauren. Instead of appearing on cable news or in newspaper interviews, the Ramaswamy team opted to invite a slew of popular right-wing personalities and influencers, like Candace Owens, Benny Johnson, Mike Cernovich, and Isabel Brown to join them on the campaign trail.

Brown, who is popular on TikTok and has almost 300K followers, shared a video with Ramaswamy on Friday, showing her participation in the Iowa campaign. In the video, Brown admires Ramaswamy for being a young candidate who knows about technology. Ramaswamy is captured holding his child, discussing conspiracy theories, and alleging that the Capitol riots were an insider job. The video has been viewed more than 540K times on TikTok. Brown announced that she will publish a Vlog on YouTube about her experience with the campaign later this week.

Ramaswamy's online efforts have caught the eye of some of the people he is trying to reach. One person who is particularly impressed is Daniel Lange, a 21-year-old college student from Colorado who is currently on a school trip. He especially enjoys Ramaswamy's campaign on Instagram, finding him to be very approachable. Lange has even taken the time to watch some of Ramaswamy's livestreams, appreciating his constant presence and engaging conversation. Although Ramaswamy's campaign methods may not be considered traditional, Lange believes that Ramaswamy is still taken seriously by people.

Gabe Conley, a 30-year-old who attended the caucus, believes that Vivek Ramaswamy is the future of the Republican party. According to Conley, the biggest obstacle facing Ramaswamy's campaign is lack of media coverage. Conley feels that the media has actually sought to suppress Ramaswamy's campaign. To increase exposure, Conley suggests having more involvement from influencers in the conservative movement, such as Candace Owens who is highly regarded among many conservatives. Additionally, more exposure for Ramaswamy would be beneficial since Conley believes that people are more impressed with Ramaswamy the more they learn about him due to his impressive qualities.

Before the caucus, well-known YouTuber and professional boxer Jake Paul planned to travel to Iowa to encourage young caucus-goers. Unfortunately, due to bad weather, he couldn't fly out. A spokesperson informed WIRED of the situation. As a result, Paul and Ramaswamy organized a collaborative Instagram livestream on Sunday night instead of campaigning face-to-face. Paul's more than 25 million Instagram followers were used to their advantage.

During the livestream, Paul urged voters to brave the cold and venture outside, stating that there is a deeper significance to enduring discomfort. He explained that he reflects on this greater purpose while soaking in the ice bath every morning.

In September, Paul shared a video on his TikTok account where he seemed to support Ramaswamy. The video showed them both moving to the beat of the music and the caption asked why more politicians don't use social media to reach younger people. After this, Ramaswamy went to one of Paul's boxing matches and sat in the front row, which could also be used for more content.

Paul expressed his great pride in Vivek for causing a sensation in the world of politics and causing a stir in the dysfunctional system. After Ramaswamy declared a pause in his campaign, Paul wrote on X, saying that he is the most youthful and intelligent person out there, and this is only the beginning of his tale.

However, influencers have limitations. Ramaswamy was unable to meet the criteria for the previous caucus debate. Therefore, he had a long chat with Tim Pool, a right-wing podcast host, and streamed it on Timcast. In the meantime, DeSantis and Haley participated in the CNN debate. Ramaswamy's discussion with Tim Pool on Timcast has been watched almost one million times on YouTube.

According to a senior member of the Ramaswamy campaign, the mainstream media is no longer relevant and has not yet come to terms with their demise. Instead, the campaign has prioritized reaching voters through online channels. The majority of Republican voters in the America First movement, which are essential to the party's base, are turning to alternative media sources for their news.

Although the creators that Ramaswamy and his team collaborated with had a vast amount of followers, it cannot be determined how many of them were qualified or interested in voting in Iowa. Ramaswamy attempted to replicate traditional YouTube collaborations in order to gain more viewers, however, this tactic ultimately did not assist him in reaching the necessary voters.

Despite this, there are some young voters who have yet to make up their minds. Recent polls suggest that more and more young voters may not vote for President Joe Biden in the upcoming general election. The Trump campaign has been very open about their efforts to win over these voters. In December, Semafor found that the Trump campaign has been increasing its outreach to young people, with the former president even attending college football games and appearing on podcasts.

Previously, Ramaswamy declined to answer inquiries about potentially serving as Trump's vice president. In August, Trump had indicated that Ramaswamy could be a strong running mate, but on the cusp of the caucus, he made a post on Truth Social stating that Ramaswamy wasn't in line with the "MAGA" ideal. However, it is possible that their rapport is improving. Upon declaring his decision to withdraw from the race, Ramaswamy revealed that he was endorsing Trump and intends to attend a rally with him in New Hampshire on Tuesday.

Ramaswamy expressed great pride in the internet-centric campaign he orchestrated as he left the party site on Monday night and believes it will be the way forward.