WASHINGTON (OSV News) – About a dozen candidates are currently seeking the Republican presidential nomination in 2024. In a field currently dominated by an ex-president, other Republican candidates are seeking ways to break out so that they might win their party's nomination to challenge President Joe Biden next year.
Although the first votes in the presidential primary process are about six months away, the first Republican presidential debate of the 2024 election cycle is scheduled for Aug. 23, and the field of candidates has taken shape.
Former President Donald Trump currently leads the Republican field at a whopping 51%, according to a June NBC News poll. Trump has maintained a large lead in his third bid for the White House, despite his unfounded claims that the 2020 election was stolen from him and criminal indictments in at least two separate cases, the first former president in American history to face such charges.
John White, a professor of politics at The Catholic University of America in Washington, told OSV News that Trump "is in a dominant position in the GOP race."
"Unlike 2016, he is running as a de facto incumbent president," White said. "This is not an open race where, in a normal time after a party loses the presidency, several candidates vie for the top slot."
White said that while the Republican Party "has had a long tradition of choosing the next person in line as its nominee – think Richard Nixon, Ronald Reagan and the Bushes – the establishment of the GOP has been eviscerated by Donald Trump."
"It's his party, and it's his nomination to lose," he said.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, currently Trump's closest rival according to the same poll, trails Trump at 22%. DeSantis has sought to position himself as an alternative to voters tired of drama surrounding Trump, while embracing many of his policies, even seeking to cast himself as more of a hard-liner on issues such as immigration.
DeSantis, who was previously a rank-and-file U.S. representative from Florida, rose to national prominence after his election as Florida governor. In the beginning of his first term, DeSantis governed with a more bipartisanship, but amid the COVID-19 pandemic, he became a partisan figure for his approach to mitigating the spread of the virus with fewer restrictions, and wading into more culture war issues, including gender-related policy.
Former Vice President Mike Pence also is running against his former running mate. Pence's campaign comes more than two years after the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol riot and its aftermath brought tension to the relationship between Trump and Pence. After the former president refused to concede his 2020 election loss to Biden, he attempted to pressure Pence to unilaterally declare him the victor when Congress met to certify the election results. Pence declined to do so, citing his lack of constitutional authority to make such a move.
But on the campaign trail, Pence often touts his work as vice president under Trump, while consistently holding that what Trump asked him to do after the 2020 election was unconstitutional. The NBC News poll found Pence is polling at a distant third at 7%.
Former Gov. Chris Christie, who is Catholic, served two terms as New Jersey governor from 2010 to 2018. At the time, Christie rose to a national profile governing as a brash former federal prosecutor and as a Republican in a deep blue state. But his administration and political profile came under scrutiny during a 2013 scandal dubbed "Bridgegate," in which aides issued lane closures at the George Washington Bridge, allegedly as retaliation against a Democratic mayor who did not endorse Christie's reelection bid as governor. Christie unsuccessfully sought the Republican nomination in 2016, and later became a close ally of Trump, but broke with him amid Trump's unfounded claims about the 2020 election.
Christie is polling at about 5%, according to the NBC News poll.
Nikki Haley, former U.N. ambassador and former South Carolina governor, became the first major challenger to Trump, her former boss, in February, after previously saying she would not run against him. As a candidate she has highlighted her status as a first-generation American and her resume as a diplomat in confronting global challenges facing the United States abroad. The same NBC News poll found Haley at 4%.
Sen. Tim Scott, R-S.C., who is the only Black Republican in the Senate, has sought to campaign on optimistic notes, and has spoken critically of what he says are arguments from political rivals that as a Black man, he should not be a Republican. Scott frequently discusses his upbringing by a single mother and how his Christian spiritual journey has impacted his life. The same NBC News poll found Scott at 3%.
Former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson earned a reputation as a staunch conservative during his two terms, and, like Christie, is one of the few candidates who has openly criticized Trump on the campaign trail. Hutchinson argued Trump should exit the race after his criminal indictments. The same NBC News poll put him at 2%.
Gov. Doug Burgum of North Dakota entered the race with far less name recognition than his rivals, and has sought to set himself apart by highlighting his Midwestern roots and a pro-business record. The same poll found him without any tangible support.
Miami Mayor Francis Suarez, who is Catholic, also entered the race as the third Florida resident to do so, and the only Hispanic candidate in the field. His longshot bid will likely raise his political profile in the state.
Former Texas Rep. Will Hurd is the most recent addition to the field, who is running as a moderate.
Suarez's and Hurd's recent entries into the race did not leave them with any tangible support in the NBC News poll.
Vivek Ramaswamy, a wealthy biotech entrepreneur, investor and the author of “Woke, Inc.,” businessman Perry Johnson, and conservative talk radio host Larry Elder also have launched longshot bids.
Biden is seeking his party's nomination for a second term in the White House without any major rivals. However, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., a lawyer who has embraced controversial claims about vaccines, and self-help author Marianne Williamson also have entered the Democratic primary.
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