Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy said in an interview that he’ll “overperform expectations” in Iowa and New Hampshire primaries next month.
During an appearance on NewsNation’s “The Hill,” Ramaswamy told host Blake Burman that he believes he has a good shot of winning state primaries in Iowa, Nevada and New Hampshire.
Ramaswamy said he plans on completing the “full Grassley” — visiting all 99 Iowa counties – twice in the first week of January, noting that he’s already attracted supporters who are first-time caucusgoers in the state.
“Many of the people come in to support us at the caucus are first-time-ever caucusgoers, which means we’re going to shatter what the polls say, and I think there’s a surprise coming on Jan. 15,” Ramaswamy told Burman.
When Burman asked if Ramaswamy wanted to overperform expectations in those states, he reiterated his initial remarks.
“I think that … to be crystal clear, I think we’re going to overperform expectations in each of both Iowa and New Hampshire, then I think we have a shot at winning Nevada,” Ramaswamy said. He noted that South Carolina’s primary will be harder than in other states.
“But remember, Nevada comes before South Carolina, and then you get to the Midwest, in Michigan and elsewhere,” Ramaswamy added. “I think we’re going to do really well.”
Ramaswamy’s remarks come after fellow presidential candidate Ron DeSantis said over the weekend that he’s confident he’ll win the Iowa caucus, despite trailing former President Trump in state polls.
“Well, we’re going to win the caucus. We’re doing everything that we need to do it. We’ll continue to build support,” DeSantis told NBC’s “Meet The Press” moderator Kristen Welker on Sunday’s episode.
Ramaswamy and DeSantis are also two of the four candidates that have qualified to participate in the fourth GOP presidential primary debate in Tuscaloosa, Ala., on Wednesday night.
It will be hosted by The Hill’s sister news organization, NewsNation, and will be moderated by Elizabeth Vargas and Megyn Kelly. People who want to watch the debate can click here to find NewsNation in their cable market, as well as information on how to stream the debate.
Trump, the current front-runner in the GOP presidential field, has already signaled he will not attend Wednesday’s debate and will instead participate in a Fox News town hall hosted by Sean Hannity on Tuesday night.
“The Hill” on NewsNation airs Monday to Friday at 5 p.m. EST. NewsNation is a cable news channel launched in 2021 by Nexstar Media Group, which owns and operates dozens of local television stations across the country and purchased The Hill in fall 2021.