A week after tech entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy’s fiery debate performance, he’s under more scrutiny than he was at any other point in the campaign before the debate.
In Iowa on Wednesday, former Vice President Mike Pence told reporters, “[Ramaswamy’s] wrong on foreign policy, he’s wrong on American leadership in the world, He’s wrong on how we get this economy moving,” per NBC News’ Sarah Dean and Alex Tabet.
The two shared a tense exchange at last week’s debate and later, on Sunday, Ramaswamy told NBC News’ “Meet the Press” that, “I would have done it very differently,” if he were vice president during the Jan. 6 riot at the Capitol.
“What he’s proposing in terms of using the authority as president of the Senate to nationalize elections was incoherent and unconstitutional,” Pence said in response on Wednesday.
Meanwhile, the New York Times chronicled a “pattern of falsehoods” shared by Ramaswamy during public appearances or on the campaign trail, including instances where he told voters misleading anecdotes, or departed from past statements about Trump, 9/11 conspiracies and aid to Israel.
And, the political newcomer shared headlines this week with rapper Eminem, after he said he would respect the musician’s wishes and stop using his music on the campaign trail.
In other campaign news …
Pro-Burgum bucks: Best of America PAC, the super PAC supporting North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum, is launching a $4 million national ad buy as part of a push to help Burgum qualify for the second GOP debate, per Politico. A new Best of America ad running Thursday morning highlights footage of Burgum from last week’s debate, and features his plan to “take on China and win.”
Manchin’s next move? Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., and his daughter Heather, a former pharmaceutical CEO, have been pitching donors on a $100 million project to “promote centrist policies and candidates,” the Wall Street Journal reports.
Cooper’s choice: Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper, who cannot run for re-election in North Carolina due to term limits, formally endorsed state Attorney General Josh Stein on Wednesday as his preferred successor, per the Associated Press.
Masters is in? The Wall Street Journal reports that Arizona Republican Blake Masters, who lost a bid for Senate last year, is expected to run again for Senate in the seat currently held by Sen. Kyrsten Sinema, I-Ariz.
Backing incumbents: House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries and other Democratic leaders announced Wednesday that they are backing Minnesota Democratic Rep. Ilhan Omar’s re-election as she faces the threat of a primary challenge from AIPAC, a pro-Israel group.
