Like him or not, tech entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy is, against all odds, getting closer to household name status after the splash he made during the first GOP primary debate last week. 

He has his fair share of critics and supporters and is seemingly tolerated -- if not liked -- by former President Donald Trump's base, given he shares many of the same policy visions.

Ramaswamy, in recent weeks, has managed to best Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) in many of the polls that matter, capitalizing on the Florida governor's struggling campaign.

The 38-year-old GOP candidate managed to dominate the debate stage, and he easily wins for sparking the most back-and-forths with each of the candidates.

Politico agrees

In its updated outlook on the GOP candidates and their chances of making the required progress to become competitive against Trump, the outlet noted that Ramaswamy made a positive splash in the candidate waters.

Politico noted:

The first votes are still 4 1/2 months away — the Jan. 15 Iowa caucuses — but the field of candidates has already been reordered. In addition to DeSantis’ demotion, both self-funding businessperson Vivek Ramaswamy and former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie have emerged from the “long shots” grouping to vault into “contenders” status.

It added:

The re-rankings represent promotions for Ramaswamy and Christie, who started the race in the “long shots” category. Each has clearly elevated their campaigns since then: Ramaswamy is now third in most national and state polls, and Christie has jumped to third place in New Hampshire and is relishing his role as the field’s loudest Trump antagonist.

In his march to becoming a "contender," Ramaswamy has worked the entire media circuit relentlessly, appearing in interviews from Fox News to CNN.

Many of Trump's supporters, according to anecdotal social media posts, seem to support Ramaswamy as a solid vice presidential pick for the former president, given their close alignment on the issues and their business backgrounds.

Former Vice President Mike Pence, Christie, and Niki Haley all clashed with Ramaswamy on the debate stage, giving voters a glimpse at how the young candidate responds to attacks and criticism.

Controversy swirls

Now that he has a much larger proverbial target on his back, many surrogates and supporters of other leading candidates like Trump and DeSantis are taking aim, pointing out inconsistencies in his past.

"In his 2022 book Ramaswamy praised Pence as courageous and trashed Trump. Lot changes in a year when you're running for president," Steve Deace tweeted. 

In his 2022 book Ramaswamy praised Pence as courageous and trashed Trump. Lot changes in a year when you're running for president. https://t.co/sDKhBYEhEa

— Steve Deace (@SteveDeaceShow) August 27, 2023

Only time will tell if Ramaswamy is able to build the coalition he needs to compete with Trump in the primaries.