As Former President Donald Trump moves closer to securing the GOP presidential nomination, among his likely options for a new vice-presidential running mate are allies who have appeared alongside him at campaign events in recent weeks, and who appear to be angling for the job.
Among the names most commonly floated among pundits and press right now are: Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-N.Y.), Sen. J.D. Vance (R-Ohio), South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem, former Arizona gubernatorial candidate Kari Lake, Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), former South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster, Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders, former Housing and Urban Development Secretary Ben Carson, North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum, former presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy, former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Sen. Tim Scott (R-S.C.).
Trump told Fox Business on Sunday he is still weighing options and won’t announce a decision for “a little while,” adding that he has “a lot of good people,” while name-dropping Noem and Scott, who Trump said is “much better” as a Trump surrogate than a presidential candidate.
Trump said the top criteria for a VP pick is someone who could “be a good president . . . in case of emergency.”
Trump also mentioned Scott, Graham and McMaster when prompted by Fox News last month, and he has publicly praised Stefanik, one of the first members of Congress to endorse him and a staunch promoter of his unfounded election fraud claims, calling her a “killer” when asked about his potential running mate picks at a dinner at Mar-A-Lago last month, NBC News reported.
Donald Trump Jr. also recently suggested former Fox News host Tucker Carlson is an option, telling Newsmax “I would love to see that happen.”
The question has increasingly been raised on the campaign trail in recent days in the wake of Trump’s decisive win in the Iowa caucuses and New Hampshire primaries.
Stefanik and Scott have not ruled out the job when asked about the possibility, while Vance recently said he “like[s]
Several of the candidates have clear downsides. Stefanik represents a solidly blue state that Trump almost certainly can’t win. Noem is embroiled in scandal over accusations she had an affair with former Trump adviser Corey Lewandowski. Trump has openly feuded with Ramaswamy on the campaign trail, urging his supporters not to vote for him and declaring he “is not MAGA” just days before the Iowa caucuses. Lake comes with significant baggage as she has refused to acknowledge she lost the Arizona gubernatorial race following a campaign centered on Trump’s 2020 own election fraud claims. And Scott broke with Trump’s GOP allies in Congress and voted to certify the results of the 2020 presidential election. Trump’s former vice president, Mike Pence, dropped out of the GOP presidential race in October, and has had a frayed relationship with his former boss after Trump urged him not to certify the results of the 2020 presidential election. Pence has claimed Trump asked him to “choose between him and the Constitution.” Trump has countered that Pence is “delusional.”
Trump’s former 2016 campaign manager, Kellyanne Conway, who is not involved in his 2024 campaign, said she would advise Trump to pick a person of color as his running mate in a bid to attract more “union workers, independents, first-time voters, veterans, Hispanics, Asian Americans and African Americans,” she wrote in a Monday New York Times op-ed.
Nevada will hold its GOP presidential primary on Tuesday, when Haley will be on the ballot, and its caucuses on Thursday, when Trump will be on the ballot. Trump is expected to handily win the caucuses, the only contest that will award delegates since the state GOP opted to move forward with both the primaries and the caucuses after the state legislature passed a new law mandating a primary. Haley opted to appear on the primary ballot, accusing Republicans of rigging the process to favor Trump, whose fervent base of supporters are more likely to participate in the in-person caucuses.
Trump appears poised to clinch the nomination after winning the Iowa caucuses on Jan. 15 with 51% of votes and the New Hampshire primary Jan. 23 with 54%. Ramaswamy and DeSantis dropped out of the race after Iowa and endorsed Trump, but Haley has vowed to stay in the contest at least until the Feb. 24 primary in her home state of South Carolina. Trump has been balancing his campaign with his various legal battles—appearing in Manhattan federal court last week for writer E. Jean Carroll’s defamation trial against him, where a jury is set to decide how much he owes her in damages.
