Former President Donald Trump may face as many primary contenders for presidency during the 2024 general election as he did in 2016.
Five names are widely circulating in the rumor mill that fuels presidential runs against unpopular incumbents like President Joe Biden.
Governor Ron DeSantis of Florida, former Vice President Mike Pence, former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, Senator Ted Cruz of Texas and Governor Larry Hogan of Maryland are likely contenders in 2025, according to an analysis conducted by The Hill.
Florida’s governor has not explicitly ruled out a presidential bid. Unlike a number of other Republican presidential contenders he has not promised to drop a potential White House bid if Trump seeks a sequel in 2024. Given his rising clout in the GOP, he would not let a contest versus Trump dissuade him if he changed his mind and ran.
But, he has consistently said he is too busy running his state, and his sights are set on securing another term in the governor’s office in Tallahassee.
“I’m not considering anything beyond doing my job,” DeSantis told Fox News host Sean Hannity in a September interview. “We got a lot of stuff going on in Florida.”
“I’m going to be running for reelection next year.”
Former Vice President Pence has been aggressively positioning himself for a potential White House run in recent months with high-profile speeches and targeted travel.
His travels have brought him to early presidential primary and caucus states such as Iowa — the traditional starting gate for presidential primaries. The former vice president also travelled to the Ukraine-Poland border for the meet-and-greet with Ukraine’s president, which has become almost obligatory for ambitious politicians.
Pence also will make his final decision about a White House run regardless of what Trump decides to do in 2024.
Cruz is not shy about his political ambitions. He battled Trump for president once, finishing second in the 2016 Republican presidential primary. The Texas senator would obviously hope to flip the script in 2024 if Trump decides to throw his hat in the ring again.
Pompeo has also hinted his 2024 plans will be made independent of what Trump does and told Fox News during an interview that any decision about his political future will be solely decided by him.
“The Pompeos have always used the simple fact of do you believe this is the moment where you think you can best serve America, this is the place you can have the most impact,” Pompeo said. “That will be how we make our decision in the end.”
Hogan has been a prominent critic of Trump, so the idea of taking him to the mats with a 2024 presidential challenge would certainly appeal to him.
Hogan has carved out a reputation for himself as a more traditional conservative in the mold of someone like former President Reagan, serving as a GOP governor in a blue state.
He has issued repeated dire warnings that a 2024 Trump candidacy could cost the GOP the White House again. The Maryland governor has called on the party to look to the future instead of continuing to focus on the 2020 election Trump claims was stolen.
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