Future Retirement Success
  • Politics
  • Business
  • Investing
  • Stocks
  • Politics
  • Business
  • Investing
  • Stocks

Future Retirement Success

Politics

Trump’s in, Haley’s getting in – How about DeSantis? Pence? Others? How large a GOP 2024 field will we see?

by February 14, 2023
February 14, 2023
Trump’s in, Haley’s getting in – How about DeSantis? Pence? Others? How large a GOP 2024 field will we see?

Former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, who served as ambassador to the United Nations during former President Donald Trump’s administration, is expected to declare her candidacy for president Wednesday, joining Trump as the only major Republicans to date to have launched White House campaigns.

Haley spotlighted her countdown on Monday, tweeting, ‘Just two days until we see you all in South Carolina.’

So far, it has remained a field of one in the hunt for the GOP presidential nomination since Trump jumped into the race in mid-November. But Haley’s anticipated entry — at an event in Charleston, South Carolina — could open the flood gates, with other likely Republican White House hopefuls launching their own campaigns in the weeks and months ahead.

The big question is: How large a field will materialize?

With Trump already in and with Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis – who’s national brand has soared among conservatives the past couple of years – potentially launching a bid later this year – campaign professionals aren’t expecting a very large field. Especially compared to the 17 Republicans who ran in the 2016 presidential cycle or the whopping 27 Democrats who ran in 2020, which were wide-open races for their respective parties.

New Hampshire-based Republican strategist Jim Merrill, a senior adviser on multiple GOP presidential campaigns, predicted that with Trump in the race, ‘instead of 12-16 candidates, you might end up getting 6-10.’

Longtime GOP consultant David Kochel told Fox News that ‘it’s probably going to be a smaller field than in 2016.’

‘I think it’s going to be much more manageable. I’d say we’re going to end up with six to eight candidates,’ Kochel, a veteran of numerous presidential and Iowa based campaigns, predicted.

And longtime Republican pollster Neil Newhouse, who’s also pulled multiple tours of duty on GOP presidential campaigns, emphasized that ‘it’s going to be a smaller field of competitors than it certainly was eight years ago.’

One key reason is Trump – who more than two years after his 2020 reelection defeat at the hands of President Joe Biden – remains the most popular and influential politician in the GOP, and he is arguably the party’s top fundraiser when it comes to energizing the grassroots.

‘People are looking at this race in [assessing] Trump’s strength, and all the numbers indicate he’s still pulling a significant percentage of Republicans, making it really difficult for somebody to break through,’ Newhouse said. ‘It’s going to be difficult for an unknown to catch fire in this election simply because they’re running against a guy who’s extraordinarily well known and liked by many in the party. I think that’s going to limit the field. People are going to self-select whether they can do this or not.’

‘He is significantly stronger at this point in time in the 2024 election than he was in the 2016 election,’ Newhouse said of Trump. And pointing to the open race for the 2016 GOP nomination, he added that ‘it’s a little more daunting right now running against a former incumbent president than it was eight years ago.’

But the first three months of Trump’s latest White House bid have raised plenty of questions regarding his political durability.

Pundits from both the left and the right criticized his campaign launch as well as controversial actions and comments he’s made since declaring his candidacy. And in the wake of a lackluster performance by the GOP in the midterm elections – when the party underperformed in what many expected to be a red wave election – Trump has also been blamed for elevating polarizing Republican nominees who ended up losing in November.

While the former president was once the overall front-runner in the early 2024 GOP nomination polls, DeSantis has eclipsed him in some surveys over the past few months. Nearly every poll indicates Trump and DeSantis as the favorites, with everyone else in the single digits.

DeSantis, a former congressman, saw his popularity soar among conservatives across the country the past three years, courtesy of his forceful pushback against coronavirus pandemic restrictions and his aggressive actions as a conservative culture warrior, going after media and corporations. And the Florida governor’s nearly 20-point reelection victory helped transform the one-time blockbuster battleground into a red state.

DeSantis routinely dismisses talk of a 2024 White House run, but he’s dropped plenty of hints of a possible presidential bid since his reelection victory speech in November.

Sources in DeSantis’ wider orbit say any presidential campaign launch wouldn’t occur until late spring or early summer, after the end of Florida’s current legislative session. But Republican sources confirm to Fox News that the governor’s political team has already started reaching out and identifying operatives for a potential White House run.

Tom Rath, a longtime GOP consultant and former New Hampshire attorney general, said the White House race is ‘a battle for oxygen and attention’ and that both Trump and DeSantis are now taking up nearly all the ‘oxygen and attention.’

He said that ‘it’s hard for some of the others to emerge.’

Kochel said that Trump and DeSantis – if the Florida governor launches a campaign – would be in a first tier ‘getting the most attention,’ with a second tier of candidates angling for opportunities.

That second tier would likely include former Vice President Mike Pence, who on Wednesday will be in Iowa, the state whose caucuses kick off the Republican presidential nominating calendar.

Sen. Tim Scott of South Carolina, whom pundits view as a potential presidential contender, heads to Iowa the following week as part of a listening tour that was first reported recently by Fox News.

Among the others making moves toward launching a campaign or seriously considering a Republican presidential run are former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, who’s currently on a book tour; now-former Govs. Larry Hogan of Maryland and Asa Hutchinson of Arkansas; Govs. Chris Sununu of New Hampshire, Kristi Noem of South Dakota and Glenn Youngkin of Virginia; former Gov. Chris Christie of New Jersey and former Rep. Will Hurd of Texas.

Kochel predicted that ‘they’re definitely people snipping around that won’t run or might just test the waters and not pull the trigger.’

But Merrill forecast that Republicans will ‘have a robust field. I don’t think he’s [Trump] clearing anybody out. The losses the Republican Party has taken the last three cycles make it clear that people are going to be clamoring for different voices. I think we need to have a competitive primary and I think you’re going to get one.’

Paul Steinhauser is a politics reporter based in New Hampshire. 

This post appeared first on FOX NEWS
0
FacebookTwitterGoogle +Pinterest
previous post
U.S. Senate to hold classified briefing on unidentified objects shot down by the military over North America
next post
Virginia Democrats shoot down murder charges for drug dealers

You may also like

UNBELIEVABLE: Reuters Hack Harasses Michigan Voter Integrity Group,...

September 20, 2022

Flashback: Oprah Winfrey once called Trump a ‘folk...

August 22, 2024

Maine bill expanding abortion access gets enough co-sponsors...

April 13, 2023

Nigel Farage shakes up UK election, establishment on...

June 9, 2024

FBI Deputy Director Bongino: Illegal alien criminals and...

May 11, 2025

Nord Stream Whodunnit: CIA Fingers the Ukrainians

October 2, 2022

Biden Interrupted by Howling Attendees at Climate Change...

November 11, 2022

Hunter Biden was paid $100K through joint-venture with...

February 9, 2024

Nebraska Legislature’s debate on youth sex change ban...

March 22, 2023

Trump administration to hold first White House press...

January 28, 2025

    Get free access to all of the retirement secrets and income strategies from our experts! or Join The Exclusive Subscription Today And Get the Premium Articles Acess for Free

    By opting in you agree to receive emails from us and our affiliates. Your information is secure and your privacy is protected.

    Recent Posts

    • Rescissions: A Small but Welcome Step Toward Spending Discipline

      June 5, 2025
    • DAVID MARCUS: Why Navy ships should not be named for gay rights icons

      June 5, 2025
    • GREGG JARRETT: Biden, the ‘marionette president; and the case of the runaway autopen

      June 5, 2025
    • Trump Practically Bans Travel and Immigration from 12 Countries with Flimsy Security Justifications

      June 5, 2025
    • ‘He’s not a big factor’: Trump’s Senate allies dismiss Elon Musk’s calls to ‘kill the bill’

      June 5, 2025
    • Fears grow that Tata Steel could be excluded from Starmer-Trump trade deal

      June 5, 2025

    Categories

    • Business (8,147)
    • Investing (2,008)
    • Politics (15,523)
    • Stocks (3,127)
    • About us
    • Privacy Policy
    • Terms & Conditions

    Disclaimer: futureretirementsuccess.com, its managers, its employees, and assigns (collectively “The Company”) do not make any guarantee or warranty about what is advertised above. Information provided by this website is for research purposes only and should not be considered as personalized financial advice. The Company is not affiliated with, nor does it receive compensation from, any specific security. The Company is not registered or licensed by any governing body in any jurisdiction to give investing advice or provide investment recommendation. Any investments recommended here should be taken into consideration only after consulting with your investment advisor and after reviewing the prospectus or financial statements of the company.

    Copyright © 2025 futureretirementsuccess.com | All Rights Reserved