Donald Trump will likely run for the nomination if he runs again for president. A slew of GOP candidates are ready to accept him, which is a sign that Trump’s dominance in Republican circles is waning.
This week, the South Dakota Governor. Kristi Noem created a commercial to introduce her to a national audience. Trump’s former U.N. Ambassador, Nikki Haley publicly discussed a possible presidential bid in Iowa early state. Trump’s former secretary-of-state, Mike Pompeo began to target evangelical voters in Iowa, South Carolina, with a new advertisement on the Supreme Court, religious freedom, and a new message.
Trump’s 2020 running mate, Mike Pence (ex-Vice President), is preparing for a run against his former boss. Meanwhile, Arkansas Senator Tom Cotton, who has been a frequent visitor in Iowa and New Hampshire as another early-voting state, is preparing himself.
Consultants and grassroots conservatives such as Bob Vander Plaats in Iowa believed that many Republicans were merely testing the waters, possibly in the hope of being chosen to be Trump’s running-mate. They now believe Trump will face a primary.
Vander Plaats spoke of the “on-the-ground” information he is hearing in the caucus state.
He said, “Instead it being about [President Joe] Biden’s record and $5gallon of gas and the hasty withdrawal form Afghanistan, and disrespecton the international stage, it’s going be debating Trump.” It’s not going to happen Jan. 6, but it will be the 2020 election. Let’s not do that. Let’s not stop moving forward. We win. This is what motivates a lot people.
Vander Plaats, along with a dozen other early-state and national Republican insiders, spoke to NBC News. They said that the weariness of the January 6th insurrection has been brought to a sharper focus by the House committee’s revelatory public hearings. Even though most Republicans don’t watch it or aren’t likely believe its findings, they claim that the hearings are still creating unwanted pressure. Some megadonors have even said, anonymously, they are withdrawing from Trump.
Sources say Jan. 6 is just one factor in the jockeying for the GOP’s undisputed leader. Sources say there’s another factor: the ambition of politicians, which is typical for any end of midterm election cycle; a hope Trump will not run again; a belief that he could face indictment as a result Jan. 6, or his efforts in Georgia to overturn the election results; a feeling that Trump isn’t so powerful after Republican voters rejected his high profile endorsed candidates in Georgia; and Pence’s decision to defy Trump and appear ready to challenge him on Jan. 6.
One top Republican consultant said that Trump’s fear factor has disappeared for many of his consultants, as well as some politicians, who were previously worried about him. He spoke under condition of anonymity because he didn’t want to be publicly identified.
Trump’s political operations listen to whispers and monitor potential opponents. They say that the former president is ready for any challenge.
Tony Fabrizio, one Trump’s pollsters, stated that “My belief is that they all will run.” “What loyalty argument is there if your vice president runs against you for president?”
Fabrizio stated that despite all the Trump hits, his polling and public survey results show that Trump’s favorability rating remains high among Republican voters. It hasn’t fallen since he was elected and he still receives about half the 2024 GOP primary vote. Ron DeSantis is often in the lead by two or more.
DeSantis is consistently moving closer to Trump in these surveys, while Trump’s numbers are in the single digits. DeSantis, Florida’s governor, has won several key conservative straw polls. He also moved slightly ahead of Trump in a recent Republican Poll in New Hampshire, which is the first-inthe-nation primary state.
DeSantis, along with his team, have debunked rumors that he might run for the Republican nomination in 2024. DeSantis hasn’t traveled to early voting states with much frequency. He only went to a South Carolina fundraiser in May, and to an April event in Nevada to support Adam Laxalt, his roommate at the Naval Justice School.
David Abrams, DeSantis’s advisor, said that speculation about the governor’s presidential positioning is “comically wrong” as he has his eyes on his day job and winning another term.
DeSantis has amassed $124 million in war funds for his re-election campaign, while Trump, who started this year with $122 millions cash across his political action committees and his personal financial accounts, has been watching his understudy with a degree of resentment, and nervousness.
The Republican stated that it would be a lie for him to claim he isn’t watching DeSantis, and that DeSantis could be a major reason Trump announces so early. “Don’t get it wrong, Ron believes he can beat Trump.
Dave Carney, a New Hampshire-based veteran presidential campaign consultant, stated that he is not surprised by the number of potential candidates flocking to Granite State, or the speculation about challenging Trump. Biden’s low approval rating and belief that Trump will run again are two factors that have fueled Trump’s popularity, he said.
He stated that if Biden resigns, Trump will have less incentive to run. “But Democrats will have a donnybrook by their side. It doesn’t matter which way it goes.
Wesley Donehue, a long-time Republican strategist, stated that he believes every Republican candidate is now running a “just in case” presidential campaign in South Carolina to try and stop Trump. He stated that Trump would be defeated, except perhaps DeSantis, in South Carolina.
Donehue stated that Haley does not have a shot against Donald Trump, or DeSantis in this area.
Haley, who lost her standing among Republicans after criticizing Trump’s Jan. 6 riot, was sure to praise Trump in her speech last week at the Iowa Republican Party’s Lincoln Day Dinner. She said she would not run against Trump.
Pompeo, Trump’s other appointee, is jockeying for a presidential candidacy. He has been more direct in engaging a challenge and told CBS News’ Major Garrett last Wednesday that Trump’s decision wouldn’t have an effect on him.
Pompeo stated that he is certain in some ways it would make him uncomfortable, noting that he was once Trump’s most loyal Cabinet member. It would likely be uncomfortable for him too. They worked closely together.”
A Noem adviser wouldn’t confirm that she would be running against Trump, but stated that her TV ad was also targeted at early Republican voters via digital media.
The adviser said that “We’re just starting,” but was not authorized to speak on record.
David Kochel, a prominent presidential consultant, hails from Iowa. He said that there is only one downside to potential candidates not starting “road-testing” their message, meeting people early in states, and building a financial networks.
He also stated that there is a growing sense that people are tired of Trump’s chaos and drama.
Scott Reed, another veteran presidential campaigner and former top operative at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce said that candidates are “loosening up some” and that there have been more 2024 strategic conversations and organizational meetings in the past six weeks than any time in recent memory. Some people feel that Trump is losing his strength and that there is exhaustion. People feel tired.”
Fabrizio, Trump’s pollster said that the data shows that Trump isn’t in a strong place but that more candidates increase the chance that his hardcore supporters will have an outsized influence.
