He was introduced to politics by veteran opposition leader and former prime minister Raila Odinga,
In fact, he was a member of the Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) party but in the lead up to the 2013 general elections, Garissa Township MP Aden Duale fell out with Raila.
With Ruto and others, they formed the United Republican Party (URP) which teamed up with The National Alliance (TNA) and went on to form the government after winning against the Coalition for Reforms and Democracy (CORD) in 2103.
When Raila visited Garissa in 2017 at the height of the campaigns, he reminded the residents how he had helped Duale only for Duale to leave him and join Ruto.
The leader of the majority in the national assembly is seen as a member of the closely-knit Ruto inner circle.
In a 2014 interview https://bit.ly/2PHLRqu, Duale vowed to retire from politics if Ruto becomes the president in 2022.