Vivek Ramaswamy predicts "surprise result" in Iowa caucuses

• A second or third-place finish in the first-in-the-nation caucuses, set to take place on Jan. 15, will "over-perform the expectation that we have going in," Ramaswamy added.

Between the lines: Ramaswamy, who experienced a bump in polls following the first GOP primary debate, averages over 5% support in the national polls, putting him at about fourth, according to FiveThirtyEight.

• He also averages about 5% in early Iowa polls, according to FiveThirtyEight, which has him in fifth as of Oct. 24.

Zoom in: Ramaswamy, the youngest candidate in the GOP field, has sought to appeal to younger voters, including by joining TikTok in part in an effort to reach the crucial voting bloc.

• "The reason I say that is the polls aren't capturing the people who come to our events ... disproportionately, we are drawing people who have never participated in a caucus," he said.

Flashback: Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Tex.) won the Republican Iowa caucuses in 2016 and former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum (R) won them in 2012 — both by thin margins — but neither ended up winning the GOP nomination.

• "I think I'm ahead of where Rick Santorum was when he won the Iowa caucus," Ramaswamy said Tuesday.
• "Now in his case, he was unprepared to go forward in future states like New Hampshire or otherwise," he said.

Go deeper: Iowa fires starting gun in race to stop Trump