Ramaswamy Shuts Down Ohio HQ, Moving to Iowa, NH

GOP presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy is shutting down his campaign headquarters in Ohio and sending his 40-person staff to locations in the early voting states of Iowa and New Hampshire, staffers learned Saturday. 

Officials with the campaign informed staff of the change Saturday morning, reports Politico. 

Ramaswamy senior adviser Tricia McLaughlin called the decision for a “bifurcated headquarters” a “gritty move that will only carry that momentum through to the caucuses and first primary.”

Ramaswamy is also reportedly shopping for apartments in New Hampshire and has signed a lease in Iowa. His wife, Apoorva, a laryngologist, is planning to join him on weekends, along with their two children.

Ramaswamy, a biotech entrepreneur, is polling in fifth place in both Iowa, with 4%, and New Hampshire, at 6%. 

Former President Donald Trump remains the clear front-runner for the GOP nomination, while Sen. Tim Scott, R-S.C., and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis have both already shifted staff and resources to Iowa.

Only Ramaswamy and former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, though, are also deploying resources to New Hampshire as well.

Currently, Haley and DeSantis are vying for second place behind Trump, but Ramaswamy’s campaign says he is ranking high among voters as their second choice. 

Further, they claim Ramaswamy has dipped in the polls because his rivals are outspending him, but are quick to point out that former Sen. Rick Santorum took the 2012 Iowa caucuses while running at just 3% in the polls. 

Ramaswamy has done more than 150 events in Iowa, and his campaign co-chairman Matt Schultz, a former Iowa secretary of state said he thinks that the candidate is in a “good position to move forward and capture some momentum” in Iowa and New Hampshire.

In addition, Ramaswamy’s campaign earlier this month announced the launch of an eight-figure ad buy in the two states, which they say bodes well for him.

“You’ve got a candidate that’s willing to put in the shoe leather in addition to having enough resources to break through the clutter that will be both Iowa and New Hampshire as it relates to advertising. We have somebody that’s willing to do both, Mike Biundo, a New Hampshire-based senior adviser to Ramaswamy who also advised Santorum’s campaign commented.