Former President Donald Trump remains the prohibitive favorite to win the 2024 Republican primary, but who will be his running mate if that holds?
We know it won’t be former vice president Mike Pence, who diverged from Trump on certifying the results of the 2020 presidential election.
So it will be someone different and most likely someone who is loyal to Trump — effectively eliminating all of the Republicans running against him for president currently (save Vivek Ramaswamy, although that feels unlikely).
Here are five possible Trump running mates:
1. Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders (R-Arkansas)
Sanders served as the head White House press secretary in the Trump administration for about two years from July 2017 to July 2019.
It was her job to defend the Trump administration to the liberal media, and she left the administration on good terms with the former president.
She was elected governor of Arkansas in 2022 and is backing the Trump 2024 campaign.
Plus, Trump has said he likes the idea of having a female running mate.
Sanders checks a lot of boxes that would make her an appealing fit for the Trump ticket. Not to mention, it would be a free shot at VP; she isn’t up for re-election until 2026.
2. U.S. Representative Elise Stefanik (R-New York)
Stefanik rose to political prominence as a staunch Trump defender during his first impeachment in 2019. She replaced anti-Trump Republican Liz Cheney (R-Wyoming) as chairman of the House Republican Conference in May 2021, making her the third-ranking House Republican.
Once seen as a moderate, Stefanik has become increasingly conservative in recent years. And given her high ranking among House Republicans, she must have the respect of her GOP peers. Since Trump and then-House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wisconsin) weren’t fond of one another while Trump was president, maybe Trump would want someone to help him have a strong relationship with House leadership.
3. Governor Kristi Noem (R-South Dakota)
Like Sanders, Noem is the governor of a Republican-leaning state backing Trump. However, unlike Sanders, Norm also represented her state in Congress from 2011 to 2019, before serving as governor.
Noem gained prominence and fans among conservatives for her approach to the coronavirus pandemic, which included never implementing a mask mandate or a statewide lockdown. As a former member of Congress, she likely has a working relationship already with many current members of Congress — something that could benefit a second Trump administration.
While Donalds is probably less likely to get the nod than some of the aforementioned names, maybe Trump and his consultants will see Donalds as beneficial in those courting efforts.
5. Tucker Carlson
The former Fox News host is definitely a longshot VP candidate, though former first lady Melania Trump likes the idea, according to Axios.
But before Fox News fired him in April 2023, Carlson was the top-rated man in cable news. So if Trump wants to take an unconventional route and get someone who could also draw big crowds to rallies, then maybe this is the pick.
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