Political chatter is shifting to a new topic amid President Trump’s dominance as the GOP frontrunner: Who will be his running mate?
As former President Donald Trump’s polling lead over his Republican rivals has come to look insurmountable, more than 40 names have bubbled up in speculation about his pick for vice president in the 2024 election.
Potential Running Mates: US Sen. Tim Scott, Former UN Ambassador Nikki Haley, Entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy, South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem, North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, Former HUD Secretary Dr. Ben Carson, Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders, Former DNI John Ratcliffe, Former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, US Rep. Elise Stefanik, US Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, The Wildcards: Conservative political commentator Tucker Carlson, Independent candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Others: Kari Lake of Arizona, Tudor Dixon of Michigan
“People are talking about Trump VP picks because they recognize the primary is over and has been for quite some time,” Jason Meister, a New York-based adviser to the former president, told The Epoch Times. “Trump is polling stronger than he did in 2016 and 2020. He’s surging with blacks, independents, and younger Americans.”
Nearly 63 percent of would-be voters say they favor President Trump as the GOP presidential nominee, according to the latest RealClearPolitics polling average.
That compares with about 11 percent support each for Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and Nikki Haley, the former South Carolina governor who served as President Trump’s ambassador to the United Nations.
President Trump’s dominance in the polls has persisted in spite of—or, some say, because of—the “lawfare” being waged against him. The former president faces 91 criminal charges that threaten his freedom, civil cases aimed at his financial empire, and state-level efforts to boot him from 2024 ballots.
Arguably, these precarious circumstances make it even more important to wisely choose a running mate, since a vice president must be prepared to step in if the president cannot, for some reason, fulfill his duties.
Even if the vice president doesn’t assume the role of president, the position often serves as a steppingstone to the presidency.
Among the past 10 presidents, four previously served as vice president, including the incumbent, Democrat President Joe Biden.
Shopping for the ideal vice president requires consideration of many variables. That person should possess political clout and experience and must embrace the presidential candidate’s proposed policies. He or she also should be capable of drawing more supporters into the fold.
In that vein, an ethnic minority or a female might make an advantageous vice president choice for President Trump, because such a person might bolster his support among those factions of voters.
By Janice Hisle
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