Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy tried his hand at a different kind of race on Thanksgiving Day, joining hundreds of runners for the 2023 Des Moines Turkey Trot.
Ramaswamy ran the 5K while pushing his son in stroller and said afterward he experienced a sense of patriotism in the crowd, even exchanging a fist bump with a runner holding an American flag.
“I would say it was an uplifting day,” Ramaswamy said after the race. “We’re meeting people, have no idea whether they’re Republican or Democrat, but they’re unified and with their families. Multiple grandparents to grandchildren to parents (are) doing this together, and so that’s something that gave me a sense of optimism.”
Ramaswamy said he still has a shot in the Iowa Caucuses despite the recent endorsements of Gov. Kim Reynolds and Iowa evangelical leader Bob Vander Plaats for Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis.
“I think it’s entirely unsurprising, I mean, everybody from the start of this race saw those (endorsements) coming,” Ramaswamy said. “That didn’t surprise anybody, but what I’m seeing on the ground (is that) this is gonna be decided by the people; this is gonna be bottom up.”
Ramaswamy, who has held roughly 22 events across Iowa in the past week alone, said most of the attendees at his events have never even been to a caucus before.
“I think we’re poised to deliver a major surprise, and I think that’s going to be great to propel us to the rest of the race,” Ramaswamy said.
Ramaswamy said he had not planned to run a 5K as part of the campaign but before hitting the trail he regularly ran.
“I’ve always believed that physical fitness is a good ticket to mental health fitness,” Ramaswamy said. “(I) want to set a good example for this country and that’s what we’re doing.”
After the race, Ramaswamy said he planned to door-knock and hand out pumpkin pies to supporters before going home for his Thanksgiving meal.
“I think we’ll surprise some people with knocking some doors and we have some pumpkin pies ready for them, just to say thank you for the people who are putting in such hard work — not just for this campaign, but it’s because they care about this country,” Ramaswamy said. “If I can take one day today to say thank you to those who are doing their part, that’s what we’re going to do for that next phase of the day.”
This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Vivek Ramaswamy runs in Thanksgiving Turkey Trot in Des Moines