The 10 Republicans most likely to run for president

[Counselor706]

The 2024 presidential election may still be three years away, but Republicans have already begun to jockey for their places in the primary.

Former President Trump’s repeated hints that he could mount another bid for the White House remains perhaps the biggest obstacle for other would-be contenders.

While none have spoken definitively about their plans for 2024, many potential candidates have already started networking with GOP leaders and donors in key states while testing out campaign messages in public appearances.

Here are the 10 Republicans most likely to run for president in 2024:

Link for the list

 

[pecksniff]

Chris Christie?! He's still alive?!

 

[YDB95]

Trump - I'm still thinking he has no plans to run again and is just fleecing his supporters to raise money for himself. (Completely illegal, but when has that ever stopped him?) But if he is running, his latest comments on getting vaccinated are likely to hurt him among his base. And you've got to think, whatever they say publicly, the Republican establishment knows they can't count on lightning to strike twice. He threaded the needle in 2016; he's unlikely to be able to do it again.

DeathSentence - If I had to guess who has the inside track for the time being, it'd be him. He's got a real chance to rally the deplorables who are still fiercely anti-vaxx, assuming there are any of them still alive in 2024. But if he and Trump both run, they could split the deplorable base and let someone more reasonable squeak through. Also, let's see how well his re-election goes.

Pence - You've got to be kidding. The deplorables consider him a traitor. Besides, as much as the Republicans have leaned on the religious right for decades, no true-blue member of that group has ever gotten the GOP nod. Most haven't even come close (Pat Robertson, Alan Keyes, etc.)

Christie - Fat, white, male, mean...he's got all the GOP stereotypes down, but he also comes from the bluest part of the country and has been out of office for several years. I don't see him nailing down any constituency in particular.

Haley - The Republicans do love their tokens, and she's quite good at the right-wing art form of "Aw shucks, folks, we can't be THAT bad, can we?" that Reagan pioneered and that they all tried to emulate after that - until Trump came along and made no effort to cloak his extremism. The question is, has Trump made a fundamental change in the GOP electorate? Will they settle for dogwhistle anymore now that they've tasted the red meat of open bigotry? If they will, she has a real chance. If not, she's roadkill.

Cruz - Even the other Senate Republicans hate him. He is correct that the GOP has a long history of giving the nod to the candidate who came closest last time around. But there have been exceptions, and again, Trump may have made a fundamental shift here. Either way, though, he's an incredibly unlikable person.

Pompeo - Mike who? (Yes, I know who he is. But most GOP primary voters probably won't know, or will know but won't care.) If he wanted a political future, he should have run for Senate.

Noem - It sounds to me like she's angling to be Trump's running mate if he runs again. But if he doesn't, she has positioned herself pretty well as Trump in a skirt.

Cotton - Probably one of the stronger contenders, but I do wonder if anti-intellectualism among the primary voters will sink anyone who went to Harvard.

Hogan - The token moderate. Every GOP primary season features one, and the usual suspects shout from the rooftops about how it proves they're the more open-minded party, but s/he rarely gets past New Hampshire. From what I gather about Hogan, he's probably smart enough to see that, plus he openly did not vote for Trump in 2020. There's no way any Republican lives that down!

 

[pecksniff]

Cruz - Even the other Senate Republicans hate him.

One of his college roommates remarked, "Everybody hates Ted Cruz. It's his superpower."

 

[BabyBoomer50s]

All seem likely. My top two: DeSantis and Pompeo.

 

[pecksniff]

DeSantis will be president some time after Ralph Nader's third term.

But not immediately after.

 

[Chernosoth]

Is there a Republican equivalent of Randy Rainbow? Any Dem Will Do

 

[BabyBoomer50s]

DeSantis will be president some time after Ralph Nader's third term.

But not immediately after.

Depends on who the Dems nominate. Tulsi or Manchin would be formidable candidates. Pete or Kamala, not so much.

 

[pecksniff]

Depends on who the Dems nominate. Tulsi or Manchin would be formidable candidates. Pete or Kamala, not so much.

It ain't gonna be Manchin. Most Dem voters want him dead. Their reaction to Tulsi would be "Who?"

As for Pete . . . nope, America ain't ready. (James Buchanan was electable, but only because he was a closet case.)

 

[LincolnDuncan]

Link for the list

The clown car.

 

[BabyBoomer50s]

It ain't gonna be Manchin. Most Dem voters want him dead. Their reaction to Tulsi would be "Who?"

As for Pete . . . nope, America ain't ready. (James Buchanan was electable, but only because he was a closet case.)

Agree. Manchin ain’t running. He has more legislative power than POTUS right where he is. And he can switches parties and maintain that power if the Senate flips to the GOP. Also agree that Pete is a light weight. Don’t count Tulsi out though. She’s as far left as Bernie when it comes to health care and other government programs, but she presents herself as more moderate. Democratic women and indies might be receptive.

 

[pecksniff]

Trump - I'm still thinking he has no plans to run again and is just fleecing his supporters to raise money for himself. (Completely illegal, but when has that ever stopped him?) But if he is running, his latest comments on getting vaccinated are likely to hurt him among his base. And you've got to think, whatever they say publicly, the Republican establishment knows they can't count on lightning to strike twice. He threaded the needle in 2016; he's unlikely to be able to do it again.

And we can't even be very confident he will live to 2024.

Likewise with Biden, I'm afraid.

 

[phrodeau]

No Sarah Palin?

Oh that’s right. She’s going to *heh* primary Lisa *chuckle* Murkowski.

 

[YDB95]

Tulsi or Manchin would be formidable candidates.

VERY funny. Truman said it best: given the choice between a Republican and another Republican, people will choose the Republican every time.

 

[Vetteman]

As the winner of the 2020 election Trump would be the favorite to win a third election. However, contracting the Chinese created virus, Trump has been feminized, and had his sperm count lowered by the booster. All of this is a left wing plan to keep Trump from his rightful office. Trump will get a boost from JFK Jr, his 2024 running mate. Trump is still the best candidate to remove the dark forces in government.

 

[RainierWriterII]

Leave it to the biggest grifter of all time to clean the swamp. He'll do it, for sure, you fucking rubes!

 

[pecksniff]

However, contracting the Chinese created virus, Trump has been feminized, and had his sperm count lowered by the booster.

I suppose that, generally speaking, we should encourage anything that lowers sperm count in humans.

 

[pecksniff]

Leave it to the biggest grifter of all time to clean the swamp. He'll do it, for sure, you fucking rubes!

Well, last time around, he did drain the swamp . . .

But, nobody wanted him to drain it directly into the West Wing.