NEWS AND OPINION:
The all-important pairing of potential White House candidates has begun — at least among the folks in New Hampshire who support former President Donald Trump in his quest to return to the nation’s highest office. A Daily Mail headline tells all:
“Donald Trump’s supporters in New Hampshire have a new favorite choice for vice president: They want youthful, anti-woke entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy on the ticket. He displaces Arizona’s election-denying Kari Lake in the affections of MAGA world, according to a new DailyMail.com poll,” the news organization said.
The future bumper sticker would look like this: TRUMP/RAMASWAMY 2024.
What do the numbers say? Mr. Ramaswamy earned 19% of the vice president vote in the survey, ahead of both Sen. Tim Scott of South Carolina and Ms. Lake, who ran for Arizona governor in 2022.
Both received 17% of the vote.
The poll’s leading vice presidential hopeful may not be so keen on the idea however.
“For his part, Ramaswamy told DailyMail.com he is in the race to win it, not settle for a runners-up prize,” the news organization said.
Meanwhile, Nikki Haley was in fourth place with 11% of the vote, followed by Ben Carson (4%); Marjorie Taylor Greene (3%), Mike Pence and Mike Pompeo (each with 2%) and Chris Christie (1%).
Another 12% of the respondents, however, are unsure about the matter.
The poll of 591 registered New Hampshire Republicans was conducted by J.L. Partners from July 13 to 20.
IN CASE YOU WONDERED
The aforementioned Vivek Ramaswamy has met all fundraising and polling criteria, making him eligible to participate in future Republican National Committee candidate debates. Among other things, that criteria includes garnering support in a half dozen significant national and state-level polls and attracting a minimum of 40,000 donors.
“The debate stage criteria are stringent but fair,” he said in a written statement shared with the Beltway.
“I am a first-time candidate who started with a very low name ID, no political donors, and no pre-existing fundraising lists. If an outsider can clear the bar, politically experienced candidates should be able to as well: if you can’t hit these metrics by late August, you have absolutely no chance of defeating Joe Biden in the general election.” Mr. Ramaswamy said.
“Vivek’s momentum is undeniable,” Ben Yoho, CEO of Vivek 2024, also noted in a written statement.
And one more thing. He added that the candidate “looks forward” to facing his foes on the debate stage.
MEANWHILE IN TEXAS
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott has officially responded to a recent letter he received from the U.S. Department of Justice. Mr. Abbott reveals that the letter informed him that the federal agency plans “to sue the State of Texas over the floating marine barriers placed in the Rio Grande River to deter illegal crossings near Eagle Pass.”
The governor revealed this development in a simple press release, then chose to make his response on Twitter. Here is what he said:
“The tragic humanitarian crisis on the border was created because of Biden’s refusal to secure the border. We will continue to deploy every strategy to protect Texas and Americans — and the migrants risking their lives. We will see you in court, Mr. President,” Mr. Abbott said in his succinct reply, which he shared on Sunday.
FOXIFIED
Following the recent departure of prime-time host Tucker Carlson, Fox News revamped its prime-time lineup — and it appears that the new schedule suits viewers just fine. According to Nielsen Media Research numbers for Thursday evening, the network drew 2.1 million viewers during the 7-11 p.m. time period.
In contrast, MSNBC had an audience of 1.4 million while CNN attracted 611,000 viewers. If we do the math on this, the new prime-time lineup on Fox News appears to have bested the audience numbers of MSNBC and CNN combined.
Meanwhile, which program ruled the roost on Fox News?
That would be “The Five”, with an audience of 2.7 million viewers, followed by “Hannity” 2.5 million), “Jesse Watters Primetime” (2.3 million), “Gutfeld” (2 million) and “The Ingraham Angle” (1.8 million).
BOURBON REVISITED
The Beltway recently highlighted 2A Bourbon, a new offering from North Carolina-based Constitutional Spirits LLC. Our coverage noted that the company had “partnered” with the Second Amendment Foundation in the new endeavor.
Here’s a clarification on that: The two forces are not actually partners — and the foundation was not involved in the conception or creation of the bourbon. Instead, the foundation will get a portion of the proceeds from each bottle sold.
And they are handsome bottles.
“We’re delighted at this special method of providing corporate support for our activities,” the foundation’s founder and executive vice president Alan M. Gottlieb said in a written statement.
2A Bourbon is available for sale in 44 states through mail order. Curious bourbon fans can visit 2ABourbon.com for more information.
Find Mr. Gottlieb’s group at SAF.org.
POLL DU JOUR
• 41% of Republican voters think economic issues such as inflation, jobs and taxes will be most important in deciding who they will support for the Republican nomination.
• 15% cite immigration issues, such as border security and legalization as the most important.
• 15% cite social issues, such as religion, abortion and gender in school.
and sports.
• 12% cite foreign policy and defense issues, such as terrorism and relations with China and Russia.
• 9% cite populist issues, such as corruption, elite power and corporate activism.
• 5% say all of the issues will be important.
• 2% don’t know.
• 1% say some other issue will be most important in their decision.
Source: A Fox Business poll of 806 Iowa Republican caucus-goers conducted July 15-19.
• Follow Jennifer Harper on Twitter @HarperBulletin.
• Jennifer Harper can be reached at jharper@washingtontimes.com.
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