Why these young SC voters are looking to Vivek Ramaswamy for next commander-in-chief
Aiden Martin is looking forward to Nov. 5, 2024. It’ll be the first time the 18-year-old gets to cast a ballot in a presidential election.
Having already decided that he’s not voting for President Joe Biden, the South Carolina high school senior is paying close attention to what Republican candidates have to say. And so far, Martin says, Vivek Ramaswamy looks like the man for the job, notwithstanding his lack of political experience.
“Ramaswamy, especially, is reaching out to the younger generation,” Martin said. “And I think we need the younger generation involved in politics again. Typically, they just ignore it.”
On Monday, Ramaswamy held a campaign event at Winthrop University in Rock Hill, giving Marin and a group of college students an opportunity to get up close to the 38-year-old millennial Republican and hear what Ramaswamy had to say about issues that matter to them.
As the youngest GOP presidential candidate in history, and a staunch opponent of the political establishment, Ramaswamy appears to be connecting better with at least some younger voters compared to his rivals.
“He does have kind of that tone and that voice that really resonates with a lot of young people,” said Camden Davis, vice president of the Winthrop University College Republicans, which co-sponsored Monday’s event. “And it’s evident in the way that he has support among young people. So, whatever he’s doing, it’s the right thing to do for his campaign and I wish him luck,” the 20-year-old added, although he’s still on the fence about who he’ll support next November.
Recently, Ramaswamy created a TikTok account to “reach” and “energize” young people.
“Yes, I’m officially on TikTok. We’re going to be on here a lot,” Ramaswamy said in his first video posted to the platform. “You can’t play in the game and not play in the game, so we’re here.”
Ramaswamy, who’s polling nationally ahead of former S.C. Gov. Nikki Haley and U.S. Sen. Tim Scott — but trailing them both in South Carolina — officially added his name to the ballot in South Carolina during a second campaign stop Monday at Wofford College in Spartanburg.
While at Winthrop, Ramaswamy spoke at length about the need to restore national pride — an impossible feat without young voter participation, he said.
“Sixty percent of young Americans say they would sooner give up their right to vote than to give up their access to TikTok,” Ramaswamy said. “Here’s what’s going on, I think it’s true of all of us, it’s definitely true of people my age and younger: We are hungry for a cause. We are starved for purpose and meaning and identity at a time in our national history when the things that use to fill that void failed.”
Like Martin, next year will mark the first time that some students at Winthrop and Wofford will cast presidential ballots.
Martin said foreign policy matters most to him, and Ramaswamy’s resistance to continuing to fund the war in Ukraine is what the 18-year-old likes most about the candidate.
“The U.S. government should put American citizens first,” Martin said. “So, spending money for Ukraine over there versus not spending money here on the southern border is a problem. We have our own crisis.”
But pointing to Ramaswamy’s lack of experience as a potential weakness, Martin said Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis is another favorite because of his demonstrated ability to get things done.
“DeSantis did what he said he was going to do in Florida. He flipped the state red,” Martin said. “Ramaswamy doesn’t have that political experience, so, ‘Can he do it?’ will be the question.”
Still, other students in the crowd Monday weren’t in Ramaswamy’s corner.
“I‘m looking at this guy’s Twitter page, and all he’s talking about is the border, the border, the border,” said Jhakeem Thomas, a junior at Winthrop majoring in political science. “I get that the border is a big problem, but maybe if we implement some new solutions, rather than just trying to a build a wall, we could improve our border security.”
To Thomas, Ramaswamy mirrors Donald Trump and would be better off supporting the former president, who continues to remain the front runner in the Republican field.
“I just don’t see what’s especially appealing about (Ramaswamy),” Thomas said. “That’s the problem with him, Nikki Haley, Chris Christie — they’re just parrots, saying the exact same things as Trump. So, I’m hoping (Ramaswamy) differentiates himself while he’s here, so I can see what he’s really about.”
This story was originally published October 10, 2023 at 12:56 PM.
