While political talk is focused right now on the 2022 Midterm Elections, there’s already speculation about potential 2024 GOP presidential candidates.
It comes as no surprise that most of that 2024 conversation centers on Donald Trump. He’s been strongly hinting at another run for president. He certainly sounded like a contender when CBN News spoke to him a few months ago.
He was asked what would make him not run. “Well, I guess a bad call from a doctor or something, right?” former President Donald Trump says. “You get that call and say, ‘Sir, how you doing? Come on down here and see us because we got a bad report. Right?’ … So things happen through God, they happen, but I feel so good. I hate what’s happening to our country.”
If Trump runs, that would likely clear a few people off the board. Former United Nations Ambassador Nikki Haley tells CBN News that will definitely be a game-changer. “I mean, I’ve said that if he runs in 2024, I’m not going to run,” Haley says. “I appreciate the fact that he gave me the opportunity to serve the country I love so much but at the same time, I think that’s a big conversation that he needs to think about and that he needs to have in terms of whether he wants to do that.”
The most intriguing 2024 question is whether former Vice President Mike Pence enters the ring. He’s come under a torrent of criticism from Trump and his followers although visits to early primary states have most political observers thinking he’ll run. In our recent interview with him, he played dodgeball.
“You know, David, you and I have known each other a long time and I will tell you that for right now my focus is entirely on doing everything in my power to support the conservative cause and win back to Congress and statehouses all across this country,” Pence says. “In 2022, we’ll let the future take care of itself. I promise to keep you posted.”
While waiting for news on that front, you can’t keep up with the GOP players without a scorecard monitoring other candidates. For many, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis tops the list, followed in no particular order by Senators Ted Cruz, Tim Scott and Tom Cotton; former New Jersey Governor Chris Christie; Maryland Governor Larry Hogan and Mike Pompeo. The former secretary of state has been making serious rounds in key states like Iowa and New Hampshire. “There’ll be some decisions that everyone has to make, including myself and my wife, and we’ll do that on the right timetable,” Pompeo said.
The ultimate wild card is Donald Trump. Recent polls show him with a commanding 43-point lead over his closest challenger Ron DeSantis.
For 54 percent of Republican voters, Trump tops the list. Then comes DeSantis with 11 percent and Mike Pence with 8 percent. Still, much can happen in the coming months, especially once the former president decides what he wants to do.
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