Who will Trump choose for vice president? These are the candidates in the veepstakes
The former U.S. president has made contradictory statements about his possible running mate, and the contest is still very open
Donald Trump and Joe Biden won overwhelmingly on Super Tuesday and have effectively secured the presidential nomination. With more than four months left to go until the Republican National Convention, the big question heading into the U.S. presidential election in November is who the former president will choose as his running mate. It is often said that vice presidential candidates do not win elections, but if the race comes down to a handful of states, with just a few thousand votes separating the two parties, they can make a difference. Trump has given contradictory hints about who he intends to pick, and speculation continues to circulate. There is a small problem with these veepstakes: there are too many names.
Trump — who is now in complete control of the Republican Party — has kept the VP contenders guessing. When asked about who he will choose as his running mate, the former president evades the question. “I can’t really tell you that. I mean, I know who it’s going to be,” he said at a town hall hosted by Fox News on Jan. 10, before the Iowa caucuses.
But when asked again by the conservative TV network, following the New Hampshire primaries, Trump appeared less decisive. “I may or may not really [decide] something over the next couple of months. There’s no rush to that. It won’t have any impact at all. The person that I think I like is a very good person, a pretty standard. I think people won’t be that surprised, but I would say there’s probably a 25 percent chance that would be that person,” Trump said on January 24.
Just over a week later, on February 4, the former president admitted that he had not made up his mind. “I have a lot of good ideas, but I haven’t [decided],” he told Fox News, adding that he was talking “to everyone,” including Tim Scott, the only Black Republican senator.
In another Fox News interview, during his visit to the U.S.-Mexico border, Trump was asked if Texas Governor Greg Abbott was on his VP shortlist. To which he responded, “Absolutely.” “He’s done a great job. Certainly he would be someone I would very much consider,” he answered, perhaps out of courtesy, with Abbott at his side.
In 2016, Trump chose Mike Pence as his running mate the week before the Republican National Convention. In 2020, Joe Biden did the same with Kamala Harris, who will also be his running mate in this year’s election. It is standard practice, and if Trump sticks to that schedule, he won’t reveal his running mate until July (the Republican convention runs from July 15-19).
Criteria for a VP candidate
Popularity, political interest and how well they get along with the presidential candidate are factors that usually influence who is picked as a running mate. Often they are chosen to complement the presidential candidate and make up for their shortcomings. In 2016, for example, Trump chose Pence as his running mate after coming under fire for his sexist comments and questionable integrity. Pence defined himself as a “Christian, a conservative, and a Republican — in that order,” and Trump went so far as to say he was “too honest.”
In other cases, a running mate is chosen to help sway a particular state or a key electorate that the presidential candidate has not won over. This has sparked speculation that Trump may choose a woman, an African-American, or someone relatively young. But for Trump, loyalty is another key factor.
Given the criteria, there is an endless list of VP candidates. But of the Republicans who ran against Trump in the primaries, it is safe to rule out Chris Christie, a vocal Trump critic, Ron DeSantis, who suffered a humiliating defeat, and Nikki Haley, who Trump has attacked on a personal level. Others who dropped out of the race, such as entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy, a millennial Trumpist, and Tim Scott, are trying to sell their credentials as VP. Trump has called Scott “a real tiger,” saying that the senator has campaigned better for him than he did for his own presidential campaign. Local media have even raised the name of North Dakota Governor Doug Burgum, who was the first to drop out of the race. Trump has praised the wealthy businessman for his business skills.
There is also speculation that Trump may pick one of his loyal female supporters. This group includes New York congresswoman Elise Stefanik and Georgia representative Marjorie Taylor Greene, although both are MAGA extremists who may scare away moderate voters. In addition to Greene, Trump campaigners Kari Lake, a former TV host and former candidate for governor of Arizona (a swing state), and Kristi Noem, the governor of South Dakota, have also been floated. Noem said that she would agree to be Trump’s running mate “in a heartbeat.” Her name has been making the rounds since Trump held a rally with her in September. Another name in the veepstakes is former Hawaii congresswoman, ex-soldier and political commentator Tulsi Gabbard. When Trump was asked if he was considering a list of names which included Gabbard’s, he replied: “All of those people are good. They’re all solid.”
Another Trumpist, who was the former president’s White House press secretary, has been slated: Sarah Huckabee Sanders, the governor of South Dakota. At 41, she is the youngest governor in the country and like Noem, 52, can connect with female voters in residential areas, where support for Trump is weak. Another contender, although probably with fewer options as she is a less enthusiastic Trumpist, is Alabama Senator Katie Britt, who has been tasked with responding to Biden’s State of the Union address. Also in the mix is Nancy Mace, who has a strong media profile and can connect with voters. She condemned Trump for his role in the assault on the U.S. Capitol, but has since transformed into one of his most ardent supporters.
In addition to Scott, other African-American Republicans have also been floated: Byron Donalds, 45, a congressman from Florida and a rising star in the Republican Party; Ben Carson, who was Trump’s Secretary of Housing and is very well regarded by conservative and evangelical voters; and Wesley Hunt, a former Apache helicopter pilot and 42-year-old congressman from Texas.
Long-time political veterans such as Florida Senators Marco Rubio and Rick Scott, the governor of Texas, Greg Abbott, and Trump’s former secretary of state Mike Pompeo have also been mentioned in the media, as has John Ratcliffe, who was Trump’s director of national intelligence. Another staunch Trumpist who can connect with voters in key swing states is Ohio Senator JD Vance.
As if the list weren’t long enough, the ultra-conservative TV presenter Tucker Carlson has been thrown into the veepstakes. The controversial host — who was fired from Fox after the network settled a defamation suit with Dominion for $787 million — is well-tuned to Trump’s ideas.
In total, there are 21 VP candidates, assuming Trump doesn’t pull a rabbit out of his hat. The Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC), which was held a little over two weeks ago, conducted a straw poll for Trump’s running mate. Kristi Noem and Ramaswamy won 15% of the vote, Tulsi Gabbard came in third (9%), followed by Elise Stefanik and Tim Scott, with 8% each. Byron Donalds won 7%; Kari Lake, 6%, and Ben Carson and Sarah Huckabee Sanders, 5% each. They were followed by Tucker Carlson, Marjorie Taylor Greene and JD Vance.
Trump, in any case, does not believe his running mate will have a very big impact on the outcome of the November election. “Well, it’s never really had that much of an effect on an election,” he said. Only Trump knows who he will pick. Or perhaps he doesn’t even know himself.
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