Republican Ramaswamy quits presidential race as Trump wins in Iowa caucuses

Entrepreneur and presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy announced to withdraw from the campaign for the Republican White House nomination, following a fourth-place win in the Iowa caucuses as former president Donald Trump lands first place. 

His campaign spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin confirmed Monday night that Ramaswamy is dropping out of the presidential race, reported the New York Times. 

Ramaswamy also extended his support to Trump.

"There's no path for me to be the next president, absent things we don't want to see happen in this country," he said in a speech announcing that he was suspending his campaign after coming in 4th place in the Iowa Caucuses.

He said he was the "youngest person ever to run for president as a Republican" and wants to see that dream available for his children.

Ramaswamy was not well known when he entered the race in February 2023, in his first run for political office. However, in a campaign that mirrored Trump's in terms of tone and substance, he rapidly made inroads with Republican voters by portraying himself as the heir to the "Make America Great Again (MAGA)" movement.

But despite his best attempts to persuade Republican voters that he would be more qualified to further the "America First" programme that he and Trump both supported, his campaign was unable to take much of their support away from Trump, who managed to hold onto the support of Republican voters.

According to the Des Moines Register's Candidate Tracker, Ramaswamy held 323 scheduled public events, far surpassing his goal of hosting the most events in Iowa to remain competitive.

According to his campaign, he made at least two trips to each of Iowa's 99 counties and sometimes made three or more visits.