It’s one of the most valuable endorsements on the conservative side of politics: Vivek Ramaswamy, a former Republican candidate for president, has endorsed Nick Begich for Alaska’s congressional seat.
It’s the first endorsement Ramaswamy has made in the 2024 election cycle, after he dropped from the race and endorsed Donald Trump for president in January.
Ramaswamy announced his endorsement on X/Twitter:
Before he endorsed Begich, Ramaswamy said that he had been receiving a lot of requests for endorsements, and he was screening them carefully with a set of America First principles. Begich was the first.
“You know who loves the environment more than most people? Alaskans. You know who advocates for unleashing American energy more than most people? Alaskans. @nickforalaska is America-First & Alaska-Proud. He signed the American Truth Pledge & I’m proud to endorse him,” Ramaswamy said in his video.
Begich is running for the second time for Congress, after making the top three during the 2022 election, which was the first time Alaskans had used the ranked-choice voting method to select a person to represent them in Congress. Begich is a Republican and has been since high school, when he was a member of his high school’s Republican club.
Ramaswamy is an American businessman and author of the book “Woke, Inc.: Inside Corporate America’s Social Justice Scam,” which was a New York Times bestseller. His other books are “Nation of Victims: Identity Politics, the Death of Merit, and the Path Back to Excellence,” and “Capitalist Punishment: How Wall Street is Using Your Money to Create a Country You Didn’t Vote For.”
Mainstream media calls him one of the “intellectual godfathers of the anti-woke movement” and the “right’s leading anti-ESG crusader” The New Yorker called him the “C.E.O. of Anti-Woke.”
Born and raised in Cincinnati, Ohio, Ramaswamy often recounts the sage advice from his father: “If you’re going to stand out, then you might as well be outstanding.”
Begich is a businessman, as well. Like Ramaswamy, he has not served in elected office before, but has been in the private sector since college and has deeply held conservative values, which is what won him an endorsement from Rep. Byron Donalds last month, as well as endorsements from a long list of Alaskans.
Begich said on X/Twitter, “Thank you @VivekGRamaswamy for your strong support! By putting the people of America FIRST, our great nation will be more prosperous and free. Alaska has an important role to play in our national resurgence, and I’ll be proud to fight every day for Alaska in DC!”
Recently, Lt. Gov. Nancy Dahlstrom, also a Republican, joined the race to beat Rep. Mary Peltola, a Democrat. Dahlstrom, who ran with Gov. Mike Dunleavy in 2022, has the endorsement of Dunleavy.
