Well, this is a little bit of a shocker.
In what everyone assumed to be a two-man race, a third contender has risen to the challenge.
Businessman Vivek Ramaswamy is beginning to woo many Republicans with his outsider appeal, and has surpassed the man assumed to be Trump's primary rival, Ron DeSantis, in the latest polling.
Ramaswamy received 15 percent support, while DeSantis received just 12 percent in the RNC debate qualifying poll. Ramaswamy's second-place stance aligns with a Kaplan Strategies poll released Monday that also found him above DeSantis.
Republican Main Street Partnership president and CEO Sarah Chamberlain said Ramaswamy "has risen well above expectations and is currently leading the pack of challengers."
Yeah, guys, this isn't some rinky-dink poll that Trump's allies cite just to make 45 look good. No, this is one of the polls that determine who gets into the Republican debates and what position they're in.
Vivek is a serious player with real chops. And he isn't going away any time soon.
After DeSantis, former Vice President Mike Pence received four percent, while Nikki Haley and Sen. Tim Scott (R) garnered three percent support. Chris Christie is the only other candidate who received at least one percent support.
Trump is skipping the upcoming debate, so this poll would put Ramaswamy at center stage and Trump's primary challenger.
These polls also show Trump with a 40-point lead, meaning all of this might just be competition for second place.
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