Who’re the Republican candidates operating for president in 2024?

Donald Trump stays the overwhelming favourite of GOP major voters. However that hasn’t stopped greater than a dozen candidates from leaping into the race for the Republican nomination within the hopes that they will dethrone him — or not less than interview for a place within the subsequent administration.

The previous president, who introduced his candidacy in November, has been more and more dominant in polling. His closest competitor, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, is trailing him by greater than 40 share factors on common as of early October.

Everybody else is presently polling in single digits, and all appear to have failed of their makes an attempt to make use of the primary two GOP debates to eat into Trump’s lead. And within the wake of the second debate, former Texas Rep. Will Hurd — who couldn’t muster the extent of assist wanted to look on both debate stage — turned the second candidate to finish their bid for president.

It’s turning into more and more uncertain whether or not anybody can change into a viable problem to Trump, regardless of some Republicans seeing him as a legal responsibility in a basic election. Not solely is Trump the topic of a number of ongoing civil and prison investigations, however he’s broadly unpopular amongst People. He misplaced his reelection bid in 2020, and his chosen candidates underperformed within the 2022 midterms. However, removed from turning off the bottom, all of that has solely additional entrenched Trump’s assist amongst Republican voters.

Right here’s all the pieces it’s good to know concerning the GOP contenders.

The GOP leaderboard

To this point, the first has formed as much as be a triumphant return to nationwide politics for Trump, and a contest for second place between his rivals. It’s not clear that DeSantis has what it takes to finest Trump, his former mentor who stays beloved by the bottom regardless of the prison prices in opposition to him. And regardless of her finest efforts, former ambassador and Gov. Nikki Haley, who’s polling a distant third, has additionally but to emerge as a reputable challenger to Trump.

Former President Trump

The GOP major has been overshadowed by the prison prices in opposition to Trump within the 4 instances over his involvement within the January 6, 2021, Capitol rebel, his retention of categorised paperwork after he left workplace, and hush cash funds made throughout his 2016 marketing campaign. He now faces a complete of 91 counts and potential jail time. That’s apart from the civil instances he faces, together with one that might strip him of his New York companies.

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Preventing the costs has in some respects weighed down Trump’s marketing campaign: He has used greater than $59.2 million of his marketing campaign funds to pay his authorized payments, and his court docket dates will proceed to intervene together with his busy marketing campaign schedule. However the court docket instances have additionally appeared to spice up Trump’s recognition among the many Republican base, as he has solely expanded his polling lead following every indictment. That might counsel that his supporters consider the instances are certainly the product of a “political witch hunt,” as Trump has typically spuriously claimed.

Which will assist Trump win the first. Nevertheless, it stays to be seen whether or not these indictments will trigger moderates and independents to show away from the previous president. If Trump had been to lose these voters, that might trigger critical issues for him. In head-to-head matchups versus President Joe Biden over the past month, some polls have Trump profitable by as a lot as 10 share factors, whereas others have him shedding by a slim margin. A lot might change earlier than November 2024, however ought to Trump be his get together’s nominee, these numbers counsel a good race during which shedding moderates and independents may very well be the distinction between victory and defeat.

Regardless of this, Trump isn’t going through a lot criticism from his proper flank, together with his Republican opponents treading calmly in utilizing the investigations in opposition to him to assault him as unfit for one more time period. Recognizing his continued grip on the Republican major voters and the danger of alienating them, the candidates have largely kept away from criticizing Trump instantly. However in so doing, they’ve additionally struggled to carve out distinct lanes and current a transparent argument for why the get together ought to dump Trump.

A second Trump time period would possible be extra radical than the primary. He got here into workplace in 2016 surrounding himself with members of the conservative institution who tempered his worst impulses. The following time round, he would possible change these individuals with loyalists who would advance his personal pursuits, together with making his authorized issues go away.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis

DeSantis was seen as probably the most viable challenger to Trump. He received reelection by almost 20 factors in 2022, serving to usher a crimson wave into the once-swing state of Florida although Republican candidates underperformed virtually in all places else within the midterms. However he’s operating far behind Trump within the polls, and has struggled to run a marketing campaign that feels distinct from MAGA however nonetheless has sufficient basic attraction to achieve success.

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DeSantis has been fastidiously cultivating a nationwide profile for years by making Florida a locus of conservative policymaking that has impressed copycat laws throughout the US. He’s promoted widespread conservative stances on almost each tradition warfare problem, together with attacking LGBTQ rights, minimizing the dangers of Covid-19, curbing abortion entry, and eliminating components of faculty curriculums deemed too liberal. He labored with the state legislature this session to enact that agenda in Florida, which he’s touting as his “blueprint” for America.

Past simply legislating to the suitable, DeSantis has ensured that Florida will possible keep crimson for the foreseeable future. Within the 2022 redistricting cycle, he pushed for a brand new, gerrymandered congressional map that in the end closely benefited Republicans; the get together flipped three Home seats within the midterms. He expanded the bottom, profitable counties like Miami-Dade that Republicans haven’t carried in a long time, whereas showing to make extra headway with Latino voters. He raised greater than $200 million final cycle, breaking the document for gubernatorial races.

Nonetheless, he has had a troublesome few months. He signed an ultra-restrictive six-week abortion ban in Florida that some GOP donors fear will likely be unpalatable to basic election voters. He’s locked in a high-stakes battle with Disney during which he’s suffered loss after loss after loss, neutralizing his capability to say victory over “woke” companies. He has left Trump’s assaults largely unanswered for concern of alienating the bottom. His marketing campaign started with gaffes on topics from Ukraine to chocolate pudding (allegedly), and has not too long ago gone by way of a few rounds of restructuring. And there are questions on his likability, and whether or not his marketing campaign has sufficient cash to make it to the primaries.

He’s making an attempt to carve out his personal lane within the major by operating to the suitable of Trump on points like Covid-19 and abortion and making an attempt to attract a distinction with Trump’s bombastic management type. However in some ways, his candidacy doesn’t mark a departure from Trumpism. And meaning if DeSantis had been to be the GOP candidate for president, he’d actually should contort himself to seem like a average in a basic election in opposition to Biden.

Former UN Ambassador Nikki Haley

Trump’s US ambassador to the United Nations and former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley has framed herself as a youthful, extra average candidate than Trump, who can win in a basic election. “Republicans have misplaced the favored vote in seven of the final eight presidential elections. That has to vary,” Haley mentioned in her announcement video. “It’s time for a brand new technology of management.”

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The daughter of Indian immigrants, Haley is centering her pitch for the presidency on overseas coverage and bridging the hole between MAGA and extra conventional GOP politics.

She’s prompt that she would take a hardline stance in opposition to America’s foes overseas. She had one of many highest approval rankings of anybody within the Trump administration and was well-respected by her friends on the UN Safety Council even when espousing controversial coverage selections, equivalent to Trump’s withdrawal from the Iran nuclear deal, the Paris local weather accords, and the UN Human Rights Council.

In an surroundings the place most People cite authorities and inflation as the highest points going through the US, it’s not clear whether or not that overseas coverage expertise will resonate with voters. However Haley has conservative credentials, too.

She received the South Carolina governorship in 2011 with the assist of the conservative Tea Social gathering wing of the Republican Social gathering and former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin. She went on to tighten voter ID legal guidelines, oppose Syrian refugee resettlement within the state, and earn bipartisan reward for signing a invoice to take down the Accomplice flag from the state capitol after a gunman killed 9 Black churchgoers in Charleston in 2015. In her announcement video, she hit typical conservative priorities, railing in opposition to the “socialist left” whereas calling for securing the border and monetary accountability.

However she’s additionally waded into tradition warfare battles. At a marketing campaign occasion in Might, she went on a rant in opposition to a trans influencer who partnered with Bud Gentle, a collaboration that resulted in a widespread conservative boycott of the model. She additionally declared herself to be “unapologetically pro-life” whereas advising the GOP discover a “consensus” on abortion that meets People the place they’re (and that retains her get together profitable elections).

If Haley prevails, she could be the primary lady and first Asian American to win the GOP nomination for president, including to the listing of firsts she has already achieved: South Carolina’s first lady governor and the primary Indian American to serve in a statewide workplace there. She’s presently third, often polling about 50 share factors behind Trump.

Proper-wing activist Vivek Ramaswamy

Ramaswamy will not be seen as a critical contender by a few of his Republican rivals, however he’s undeniably the breakout candidate of 2024 who’s utilizing his frequent media appearances to spice up his profile. Although he’s sliding within the polls, his combative debate performances and nonstop media appearances have helped him achieve some measure of (relative) recognition. He’s operating in fourth place, behind Haley.

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The son of Indian immigrants, a former biotech founder, and creator of the New York Instances bestseller Woke, Inc., Ramaswamy made his title railing in opposition to socially accountable investing on cable information exhibits. Over the previous few years, he’s been dubbed “the CEO of Anti-Woke, Inc.” by the New Yorker and has come out with a second e-book, Nation of Victims: Id Politics, the Demise of Benefit and the Path Again to Excellence. All through his marketing campaign, he’s promoted a pledge to pardon Trump if he’s elected president.

In his announcement video, he staked his candidacy on combating the “woke left” and what he known as “new secular religions like Covidism, climatism, and gender ideology.”

“That is psychological slavery, and that has created a brand new tradition of concern in our nation that has utterly changed our tradition of free speech in America,” he mentioned within the video.

His marketing campaign has up to now centered on tradition wars: He instructed former Fox Information host Tucker Carlson after leaping into the race that his prime priorities embrace ending affirmative motion, attaining “full decoupling” from China, reenvisioning US immigration coverage based mostly on “benefit,” and utilizing the American army to fight drug cartels in Central America. He’s additionally railed in opposition to the executive state on the path, promising to shrink the federal authorities’s civilian workforce by 75 % — eliminating 2.2 million federal jobs — by the tip of his first time period, if elected.

Whereas well-known in conservative circles, Ramaswamy would wish to discover a technique to pivot his message to make it extra interesting to independents and moderates in a basic election.

First, although, he faces rivals with far larger platforms, title recognition, donor networks, and warfare chests — lots of whom arguably pioneered his model of politics. Even when Trump had been to in some way implode, Ramaswamy would nonetheless face an uphill climb to the nomination.

The distinguished Trump critics

There’s little to be received in campaigning in opposition to Trump when most Republican voters nonetheless approve of the previous president. However that hasn’t stopped a number of GOP contenders from happening offense. For former Vice President Mike Pence, attacking Trump is a matter of necessity given his pivotal resolution to certify the outcomes of the 2020 election in opposition to Trump’s needs. However others try to take an ideological stand and provide Republican voters an off-ramp from MAGA insurance policies — one that almost all voters don’t notably seem to need.

Former Vice President Mike Pence

Pence’s greatest problem is stepping out from the shadow of Trump, his onetime operating mate from whom he has severed ties.

He beforehand instructed CNBC that the GOP is “going to have higher selections” than the previous president. And in an interview with NPR final November, he mentioned he thought Trump was “improper” in insisting that he received the 2020 election and that he was “reckless” together with his phrases and actions on the day of the January 6 rebel on the US Capitol.

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Which may not win him any favor amongst Trump loyalists. However as a distinguished evangelical, Pence is hoping to attraction to non secular conservatives’ views on abortion, non secular liberty, and schooling.

Although the Supreme Court docket’s resolution to overturn Roe v. Wade dampened GOP beneficial properties within the midterms, Pence hasn’t tempered his anti-abortion rhetoric. He has known as for a nationwide abortion ban and has thrown his weight behind a proposal by Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) that will ban abortion after 15 weeks of being pregnant, and a ban on abortion tablets.

Past abortion, Pence’s coverage group, Advancing American Freedom, has laid out a platform that features an enlargement of 529 school financial savings plans to allow them to be used for Okay-12 colleges, selling the rights of well being care suppliers to say no to carry out sure companies on the idea of ethical or non secular objections, and rolling again local weather change-related laws.

To this point, none of that has proved sufficient for him to differentiate himself.

Former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie

Christie, as soon as a Trump defender, has change into one of many former president’s most outspoken critics. Christie has decried Trump’s reluctance to debate and his unwillingness to just accept the outcomes of the 2020 election, in addition to known as the previous president a “coward” and “puppet of Putin.” He’s dedicated to not assist Trump even when the previous president wins the Republican nomination.

“Watch out for the chief on this nation, who you will have handed management to, who has by no means made a mistake, who has by no means achieved something improper, who when one thing goes improper it’s all the time another person’s fault. And who has by no means misplaced,” Christie mentioned of Trump shortly after asserting his marketing campaign in June.

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It’s a outstanding 180-degree flip for somebody who was beforehand a detailed ally of Trump, briefly headed his White Home transition workforce, and helped him put together for debates in 2020. However it’s not clear how that flip will win him assist among the many many Republican voters who’ve rallied behind him since his 4 indictments.

If something, Christie’s assaults on Trump appear to have helped spare different GOP candidates from having to go on offense in opposition to the previous president, who has been recognized to eviscerate his opponents with mud-slinging and name-calling. Christie has been on the receiving finish of Trump’s assaults earlier than, after they weakened his bid within the 2016 presidential major. The previous governor completed sixth earlier than in the end endorsing Trump for the nomination.

Christie has highlighted his document as a average governor, although his tenure as New Jersey’s government was marred by the “Bridgegate” scandal. His aides allegedly orchestrated a plot to shut lanes at a bridge that serves as a foremost artery to New York Metropolis in retaliation in opposition to a neighborhood mayor who didn’t again his reelection marketing campaign. He continues to disclaim any information of the plot, regardless of witnesses within the prison trial of his aides testifying on the contrary. By the tip of his second time period, his approval score had fallen to 15 %. As of early October, his polling common within the 2024 race hovered round 3 %.

Former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson

Hutchinson is a longtime Trump critic and has beforehand instructed ABC that he thought Trump ought to withdraw from the race in gentle of the prison prices he’s going through. However as a former federal prosecutor who labored on President Invoice Clinton’s impeachment, Hutchinson has additionally acknowledged that Trump most likely received’t try this and there’s nothing stopping him from carrying on.

“I imply, to begin with, the workplace is extra essential than any particular person individual. And so for the sake of the workplace of the presidency, I do suppose that’s an excessive amount of of a sideshow and distraction, and he wants to have the ability to think about his due course of,” Hutchinson mentioned.

Hutchinson served eight years as Arkansas governor earlier than stepping down in January as a result of he was term-limited. Whereas in workplace, he pushed a conservative agenda centered on a near-total ban on abortion with out exceptions for instances involving rape and incest, a regulation banning trans ladies from collaborating at school sports activities groups, and bans on Covid-19 vaccine mandates and state and native masks mandates.

He later expressed remorse on the lack of exceptions to the abortion ban and that he wished to reverse the ban on masks mandates amid an August 2021 surge in coronavirus instances. That hasn’t been sufficient for Hutchinson to make a lot of a mark on the 2024 race; all through the competition he’s struggled to crack even the only digits.

The opposite South Carolinian

Like Nikki Haley, Sen. Tim Scott has institution credentials, is seen as a rising star within the get together, and has scored the assist of some main Republican donors. On paper, each are the kind of candidates who would have as soon as been shoo-ins for the nomination. Now, each — however particularly Scott — try to choose up some momentum and maintain the cash flowing.

South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott

Scott, the three-term South Carolina senator and solely Black Republican within the chamber, has framed a lot of his candidacy round pushing again in opposition to Democrats’ views on systemic racism and different disparities within the US. Over the previous few years, he’s repeatedly cited his personal success as negating the concept that Black People are deprived by systematic racism and as proof that anybody can pull themselves up by their bootstraps.

“They know the reality of my life disproves their lies,” Scott mentioned of Democrats in his April launch video. “I do know America is a land of alternative, not a land of oppression. I do know it as a result of I’ve lived it.”

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As a senator, Scott has struck the same tone on race, acknowledging its function in American life whereas arguing that racism is essentially one thing that infects people moderately than being one thing for society to grapple with. He has beforehand known as out discrimination he’s confronted by police, together with being pulled over at site visitors stops, for instance, whereas calling regulation enforcement a “noble” career. Scott touched on these themes throughout a listening tour in Iowa and South Carolina earlier this yr, urging audiences to acknowledge the progress that the US has made.

As an evangelical, Scott can be making abortion restrictions a pillar of his marketing campaign. He has voiced assist for a six-week abortion ban in his house state. He has additionally mentioned that he would enact a 15-week nationwide ban on abortion or “the most conservative pro-life laws Congress can cross” if elected president.

He’s additionally echoed normal Republican speaking factors criticizing “Biden liberals” and touting conservative positions on points like immigration and crime. Legislatively, Scott is understood for serving because the GOP’s lead negotiator on police reform and because the sponsor of bipartisan laws to ascertain “alternative zones” that intend to drive funding to low-income areas through tax incentives.

The random Republicans with out a lot of a combating probability

There’s no telling how for much longer these candidates — with their lack of nationwide title recognition and seeming lack of ability to carve out a definite lane relative to their rivals— will stay within the race for the nomination. All routinely ballot on the backside of the pack, and present few indicators of reversing that pattern.

North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum

North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum introduced his bid in a June Wall Road Journal op-ed, promising to make the economic system his prime precedence with out mentioning thornier tradition warfare points: “We have to get inflation underneath management, lower taxes, decrease gasoline costs and cut back the price of residing,” he wrote.

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The 2-term governor and tech entrepreneur touted his expertise main Nice Plains Software program, which went public in 1997 and was offered to Microsoft in 2001 for $1.1 billion in inventory. His proceeds from that deal imply he’ll possible be capable of self-fund his marketing campaign. He’s highlighted how he “achieved pension reform, helped cross time period limits, and enacted the most important tax lower in state historical past” this yr. He has additionally set a aim of constructing North Dakota carbon-neutral by 2030, implementing carbon seize and storage expertise whereas nonetheless sustaining fossil gasoline manufacturing, which is a significant business within the state.

Burgum is well-liked in North Dakota however doesn’t have the nationwide title recognition of a few of his GOP rivals, neither is he forged from the Trumpian mildew, which has made it troublesome for him to interrupt by way of to major voters who nonetheless love the previous president. Whereas he certified for the primary debate, he’s constantly struggled to ballot above 1 share level, regardless of providing potential donors present playing cards in alternate for his or her assist.

Radio host Larry Elder

Elder, a conservative radio host and frequent speaking head on Fox Information, has by no means held political workplace however led the race to exchange California Gov. Gavin Newsom, a Democrat, in an unsuccessful recall marketing campaign in 2021. He’s now suing the Republican Nationwide Committee after failing to make the controversy stage alongside Michigan enterprise chief Perry Johnson, who can be operating.

“America is in decline, however this decline just isn’t inevitable. We are able to enter a brand new American Golden Age, however we should select a pacesetter who can convey us there,” he tweeted of his resolution to run for president.

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Elder, a vocal Trump supporter, has espoused conservative stances on points from abortion rights to pandemic restrictions, together with masks mandates. And as a Black man, he has critiqued the Black Lives Matter motion and known as the concept of systemic racism a “lie,” although he framed his insurance policies within the recall election as benefiting Black individuals.

He additionally attributed rising crime in 2021 to a policing pullback spurred by Democratic insurance policies. “While you cut back the potential of a nasty man getting caught, getting convicted and getting incarcerated, guess what? Crime goes up,” he instructed the Los Angeles Instances.

Michigan enterprise chief Perry Johnson

Johnson has funded his marketing campaign with almost $8 million of his personal cash. In an try to fulfill the 40,000-donor threshold required to make it on the controversy stage, he supplied individuals a $10 present card for gasoline in alternate for a $1 donation. The RNC decided, nonetheless, that he nonetheless didn’t qualify, and for that, he’s joined Elder’s lawsuit in opposition to the group.

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He made his fortune because the founding father of Perry Johnson Registrars, which audits and certifies companies that meet worldwide requirements for high quality administration techniques.

Johnson’s platform is centered on his “two-cents plan,” which he argues would scale back the federal deficit and inflation by curbing two cents of federal discretionary spending for each greenback.

Johnson beforehand sought the 2022 Republican gubernatorial nomination in Michigan however was disqualified from the first after submitting too many pretend signatures endorsing his candidacy.

Texas pastor and entrepreneur Ryan Binkley

Binkley has by no means earlier than sought political workplace and might be the least-known candidate. He based Generational Group, which advises mergers and acquisitions, in addition to Create Church in Richardson, Texas, alongside his spouse. The proceeds from his enterprise have allowed him to self-fund his marketing campaign.

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He’s operating on a Christian message however has additionally advocated for reducing the nationwide debt, immigration reform, schooling funding in city areas, and reining in large drug firms.

The dropouts

Miami Mayor Francis Suarez

Suarez was the one Latino candidate within the race and has beforehand known as on candidates who don’t make the controversy stage to drop out. He in the end adopted his personal recommendation, dropping out of the race on August 29, turning into the primary candidate to finish their marketing campaign.

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Suarez staked his long-shot candidacy on his “robust on crime” platform. A video launched by a pro-Suarez tremendous PAC touts his assist for regulation enforcement and factors to his personal insurance policies because the supply of lowering violent crime charges in Miami in 2023. He additionally took pictures at DeSantis on points from his lack of Covid-19 mitigation measures to how he’s dealing with his ongoing feud with Disney.

Suarez nonetheless faces questions on attainable corruption. He’s underneath investigation by the Miami-Dade ethics fee for his work for Miami actual property developer Rishi Kapoor, who’s being investigated by the FBI and Securities and Alternate Fee. Kapoor allegedly paid Suarez $10,000 per 30 days to help him in securing authorities permits for an city actual property venture.

Former Texas Rep. Will Hurd

As a consultant of a border district and a average, Hurd was an outspoken critic of Trump’s immigration insurance policies whereas serving in Congress. Hurd opted to not search reelection in 2020 as a result of he felt out of step with the onerous proper flip his get together had taken underneath Trump. Nevertheless, he joined his Republican colleagues in voting in opposition to Trump’s impeachment in 2019.

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In his announcement video, Hurd denounced Trump as a “lawless, egocentric, failed politician” whom he blamed for Republicans shedding management of the Home in 2018, in addition to the Senate and the White Home in 2020. However he additionally had sharp phrases for President Joe Biden’s insurance policies on immigration, crime, and inflation: “President Biden can’t resolve these issues or received’t.”

Hurd was referred to as a bipartisan dealmaker throughout his time in Congress, breaking together with his get together on points equivalent to LGBTQ rights, gun management, and its push to repeal the Inexpensive Care Act. However on condition that the Republican Social gathering has solely additional dug in its heels on MAGA politics since his departure from workplace, Republican voters haven’t been all that concerned about a candidate who reaches throughout the aisle, and didn’t appear this time.

Hurd struggled to face out in a area already full of large names — to not point out all the opposite lesser-known candidates combating to extend single-digit ballot numbers — and in the end retired from the race in October. He endorsed Nikki Haley.

Replace, October 10, 9:15 am ET: This story was initially printed on February 23 and has been up to date a number of instances, most not too long ago to incorporate that Will Hurd has withdrawn from the race.