Nobody in the dating world wants to be a second choice of their desired partner. But in 2024 Republican presidential politics, it’s not a bad strategy.
With former President Donald Trump holding a commanding lead in primary polls, yet facing four criminal indictments, his rivals’ best pitch may be as a reliable second choice — or, more crudely in dating parlance, “sloppy seconds.” While hardly an inspiring, bumper sticker-ready pitch in the mold of Trump’s “Make America Great Again,” or even George W. Bush’s “compassionate conservative” 2000 mantra, their current “Trump-lite” approaches seem even less likely to work.
DONALD TRUMP INDICTED: GEORGIA GRAND JURY CHARGES EX-PRESIDENT, 18 OTHERS IN SWEEPING RICO CASE
Under this scenario, Trump GOP primary rivals like Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL), former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, and others would effectively pitch themselves as solid and sturdy backup plans if at least some of the Trump charges stick in court — or even if multiple court appearances over the next 14 months-plus divert Trump from the campaign trail, rather than allowing him to press the Republican case against President Joe Biden full-time.
It would be an extreme case of saying the quiet part out loud. And one with potential political potency after the latest Trump indictment, on state charges in Fulton County, Georgia, for “knowingly and willfully join[ing] a conspiracy to change the outcome of the election” in his favor in 2020. Trump already faces three other prosecutions, stretching much of the East Coast — in New York state court in Manhattan, and in federal court in South Florida, and Washington, D.C.
The Georgia case, unveiled late Monday night, may pose the greatest legal threat to Trump. Brought by Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis, it accuses the former president of sitting atop a criminal racketeering enterprise that began before votes were even counted and continued for months after Trump had left office. Trump had help from 18 other named co-defendants, the indictment alleges, along with another 30 unnamed co-conspirators.
Some of those charged alongside Trump have long since become household names, such as former White House chief of staff Mark Meadows, ex-Trump lawyers Rudy Giuliani, John Eastman, Jenna Ellis, and Sidney Powell, as well as top Trump administration DOJ official Jeffrey Clark. Convictions would likely bring some sort of prison sentence, per Georgia state law, meaning these and other co-defendants would have ample incentive to flip on Trump.
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To be sure, running as a backup plan is hardly a guarantee of political success. Republican primary voters in many cases of late have seemed more interested in “owning the libs” than finding viable general election candidates (see 2022 defeated GOP Senate candidates Donald Bolduc of New Hampshire, Blake Masters of Arizona, Mehmet Oz of Pennsylvania, and Herschel Walker of Georgia, among others.)
Still, while “backup plan” isn’t politically sexy as a campaign slogan, it may be straight talk to GOP primary voters that proves effective. Especially as Trump’s court dates mount.
