Vivek Ramaswamy joins GOP presidential race

Appearing on the Tucker Carlson Tonight show Tuesday night, Vivek Ramaswamy announced that he's running for the GOP nomination in 2024. Though it's unlikely that Republicans will highlight the fact that Mr. Ramaswamy is the son of Indian immigrants, this now means that the GOP presidential field is more diverse than the Democrats' field will be if Biden decides not to run for re-election. Nikki Haley is also the offspring of Indian immigrants who came here legally.

Despite that racial and intellectual diversity in their field of candidates, DNC Chair Jaime Harrison issued a statement saying "one thing is clear: The race for the MAGA base is getting messier and more crowded by the day. 'Over the next few months, Republicans are guaranteed to take exceedingly extreme positions on everything from banning abortion to cutting Social Security and Medicare and we look forward to continuing to ensure every American knows just how extreme the MAGA agenda is.'"

Democrats frequently say that diversity is their strength. Ramaswamy rejects that, saying "We are in the middle of this national identity crisis where we have celebrated our differences for so long that we forgot all the ways we are really just the same as Americans bound by a common set of ideals that set this nation into motion 250 years ago. That's why I am proud to say tonight that I am running for United States president to revive those ideals in this country."

This is Mr. Ramaswamy's rollout video:

First, it's a strong statement that highlights what makes the U.S. the special nation that it's been for almost 250 years. Next, it's important to notice that he's a strong communicator who isn't apologetic for the U.S. being the greatest nation in the history of the world.

Ramaswamy is being called a long-shot candidate, which is understandable. He certainly isn't a typical GOP presidential candidate. That being said, it'd be a mistake to underestimate Mr. Ramaswamy. He's a pretty good communicator. He's definitely charismatic. He's undeniably conservative, especially on the culture war issues. Perhaps most importantly, he's a fresh face that isn't tied to Washington, DC. That's a major commodity when you're potentially running against a DC Swamp fossil named Biden.

Ramaswamy's unknowns

The downside to Ramaswamy's youth is that he's likely easy to characterize. He's a blank slate. Further, it's unknown whether he has much of a political network. That means he'll have to build a political organization. By comparison, Trump and DeSantis have extensive organizations. In states like Iowa, New Hampshire and South Carolina, organization can make or break a candidate.

Foreign policy isn't something that many people vote for. Still, they want to know that the person is ready to be Commander-in-Chief. That's often a candidate's first test. How Ramaswamy responds right away will matter in shaping people's opinions.

The keys to building and maintaining an organization are raising money and building networks. Since he's a businessman, he likely will be able to raise the money. Still, it's still unknown if he'll make the right choices for putting the right people in the right positions.

Last night, the race got a lot more interesting. May the best candidate win.