Iowa treasurer endorses Ramaswamy in GOP primary

Editor’s note: This file has been updated with Republican presidential hopeful Vivek Ramaswamy’s correct age.

Biotech entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy’s campaign announced on Monday that the 38-year-old GOP presidential candidate received an endorsement from Iowa Treasurer Roby Smith (R).

The news makes Smith the first official elected statewide to weigh in with an endorsement. Most elected officials in the Hawkeye State have so far declined to publicly endorse at this stage in the GOP presidential race given Iowa’s role as the first-in-the-nation caucus.

 “Vivek Ramaswamy is a businessman, a fiscal conservative, and a champion of the taxpayer. He shares my ideals and the ideals of many Iowa families and small business owners,” Smith said in a statement. 

“As President, he will reduce spending, cut taxes, and work with the private sector to grow jobs and the economy. I am proud to announce today that I am endorsing Vivek Ramaswamy for President of the United States, and I encourage my fellow Iowans to join our team,” he added. 

Ramswamy’s endorsement, however, comes as an NBC News/Des Moines Register/Mediacom poll released Monday shows him trailing other 2024 GOP rivals in the race. 

The poll placed him in seventh place at 4 percent, with former President Trump and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) largely dominating the field at 42 percent and 19 percent, respectively.

But national surveys show Ramaswamy performing better. An Emerson College Polling survey released last week showed Trump in first place at 56 percent, followed next by DeSantis and Ramaswamy at 10 percent each. 

–Updated at 10:45 a.m.