With former President Donald Trump leading GOP primary opponents by a mile in 2024 election polls, some voters are already considering who he might pick as his running mate, and one name stands out in a list of 14 potential selections.
Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL) leads the pack, followed at a distance by Nikki Haley and Vivek Ramaswamy.
“It wasn’t very close,” said the latest I&I/TIPP’s national online poll.
In asking the question to Republicans of Trump’s potential running mate two different ways, the response was always DeSantis, said the analysis. Asked their first pick for vice president then asked their second pick, DeSantis was on top.
“So which vice presidential candidate would have the most electoral clout? To determine this, I&I/TIPP then added up the individual scores for each question to see who was named by the most potential voters,” the outfit said Monday.
“DeSantis received 34% of the total votes cast on both questions, compared to 24% for Haley, 21% for Ramaswamy, 19% for [Sen. Tim] Scott, 17% for [Ben] Carson, 12% for TV personality and commentator Tucker Carlson and 10% for South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem,” it added.
DeSantis backed out of the race a few weeks ago after it appeared he wasn’t picking up enough steam — or donations — to beat Trump in the early stages of the primaries. Ramaswamy also bailed out early. Only Haley remains of those who threatened Trump, though he leads her by double digits.
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Trump has indicated that he may pick his running mate before the summer Republican National Convention. Expectations are that he will select a woman or a black person as his vice presidential nominee.
DeSantis, Scott, Noem, and Carlson have been suggested by insiders as the leading contenders. Others Trump is looking at include Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene [R-GA], Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders (R-AR), and Rep. Elise Stefanik [R-NY].
