Republican presidential hopeful Vivek Ramaswamy lost a high-ranking campaign official to former President Donald Trump.
Brian Swensen, Ramaswamy’s national political director, has left the campaign less than 50 days before the Iowa Caucus.
“We love Brian," Tricia McLaughlin, Ramaswamy's communications director, said in a statement to CBS News. "It's a good move for Brian and we're happy for him."
She stressed that there is no “bad blood” and added that Mike Buindo, a political consultant, would be taking over Swensen’s work.
Swensen reportedly led the Ramaswamy campaign’s effort in New Hampshire where the pharmaceutical entrepreneur is currently polling in fifth place. According to a University of New Hampshire poll published on Nov. 16, 42% of likely Republican voters plan to vote for Trump while 20% are for former South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley, 14% for former New Jersey Governor Chris Christie, and 9% for Florida Governor Ron DeSantis.
Researchers found that Ramaswamy’s popularity dipped in the last two months. He was initially the first-choice candidate for 1% of New Hampshire voters in April and steadily climbed to 12% support in September. Currently, just 8% of likely Republican voters consider Ramaswamy their first-choice candidate.
New Hampshire voters also consider Ramaswamy their second-place second-choice candidate (15%) behind DeSantis (19%).
Christie remains the candidate the majority of New Hampshire’s likely Republican voters (47%) say they would not vote for under any circumstances.
When asked how they would feel if Ramaswamy were the Republican Party’s 2024 presidential nominee, 15% of respondents said they would be enthusiastic while 26% said they would be satisfied. Roughly 25% said they’d be dissatisfied, 20% said they’d be angry and 11% said they were unsure.
In contrast, 46% of voters said they’d been enthusiastic if Trump were the party’s nominee, 17% said they’d be satisfied, 10% said they’d be dissatisfied, and 26% said they’d be angry.
According to the Leadership Institute, Swensen was one of Florida’s “leading political operatives” and worked on DeSantis' 2018 gubernatorial election campaign. He also led grassroots efforts for Senator Bill Cassidy of Louisiana’s 2014 campaign.
His departure comes as Ramaswamy pours additional effort into New Hampshire, which will hold its first-in-the-nation primary on Jan. 23.
“Ramaswamy’s policies are most closely aligned with those of Trump, when compared to the rest of the Republican primary field,” reports The New York Post. “Both tend to support isolationist foreign policy, and Ramaswamy was one of the candidates on stage at the first GOP debate in Milwaukee to say he would support Trump if he were convicted in any of four upcoming criminal trials.”
While he has generally presented a positive regard for the former president, Ramaswamy has indicated he believes he has more to offer the Republican Party.
"I think I can go further than Trump," he told Fox News in April. "I give Trump credit for going as far as he did. I think he went about as far as he was going to go. I’m taking this to the next level.”
