Posted on 02/19/2024 8:41:07 AM PST by MtnClimber
A presidential candidate’s running mate is usually chosen to “balance” the ticket to shore up electoral weaknesses. But in former President Donald Trump’s case, his vice presidential pick is likely to receive added scrutiny due to his multitude of legal problems. That’s why this month I&I/TIPP asked U.S. voters: Who should Trump’s vice presidential running mate be?
To find out who’s potentially strongest as a vice presidential candidate, I&I/TIPP’s national online poll, taken by 587 registered Republican primary voters from Jan. 31-Feb. 2, asked two questions: “If Trump wins the Republican nomination, who would be your top choice for his Vice President?” and, “If Trump wins the Republican nomination, who would be your second choice for his Vice President?”
The names came from a long list of recent media and campaign mentions of potential VP candidates (for the full list, see chart with this story). It also includes those who challenged Trump in the primaries, but subsequently dropped out, and one candidate still in the race.
Out of 14 possible names for the question about the “top choice” for vice president, only three reach double-digits: Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (16%), entrepreneur, author and former presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy (14%), and former United Nations Ambassador and South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley (11%).
All the rest get single-digit support, from South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott (8%) to Ohio Sen. J.D. Vance (1%). But one remaining name still looms large: “Not sure,” which takes 20% of the vote, more than any individual candidate received. So people are still making up their minds.
The followup question, about the “second choice” for veep, shakes things up a bit, with DeSantis at 19%, Haley and Scott both at 12%, and former Housing Secretary and renowned medical doctor Ben Carson in fourth at 10%. All the rest, from Ramaswamy (7%) down to Florida Rep. Byron Daniels (2%) remain in single digits.
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.
It wasn’t very close. DeSantis received 34% of the total votes cast on both questions, compared to 24% for Haley, 21% for Ramaswamy, 19% for Scott, 17% for Carson, 12% for TV personality and commentator Tucker Carlson and 10% for South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem.
All the rest received 7% or less of the total, from former Arkansas governor and political commentator Sarah Huckabee Sanders and former National Security Adviser Gen. Mike Flynn down to Daniels at 3%.
Why focus on this so early in the game, when a vice presidential selection is usually not made until the summer before an election?
The answer, of course, it that Trump is hardly a typical candidate. To begin with, fair or not, he’s a highly divisive figure in American politics, within both parties.
But more importantly, with four major indictments against him in the last two years whose outcomes are still unclear, it’s not at all certain that even with his huge lead in the polls Trump can emerge from the process unscathed.
No former president in U.S. history has faced such a barrage of litigation, in Trump’s case suspiciously filed as he geared up to run for a second term....
I think DeSantis would make a great Attorney General. Not that Trump would necessarily pick him given the infighting, but just saying.
Id like to see these run for POTUS in 2028
Scott, Noem, Sanders, Stefanik, McDonald, Jordan
Maybe one of them for VP now...
Nikki Haley???? BARF!! What is wrong with people???????
He is a vigorous 76.
He would need to step down from SCOTUS, and Trump would get to nominate his replacement.
He has to be more than a bit angry at all the hit pieces that have been thrown at him.
Cries of 'Trump is racist' would sound hollower than they do now.
The Left would go NUTSO!!!!
It can’t be DeSantis unless either Trump or DeSantis moves out of Florida. Ramaswamy is a fruitcake. Of the 3 I would go with Haley, but Trump won’t offer it and Haley won’t accept. I think it will be Tim Scott. Possibly Donaldson.
BTTT
How heavy did they oversample Dems?
I don’t believe these polls
Trump has shown a less than spectacular ability to choose his staffers....and lawyers.
My thoughts, highly weighted toward “Will it help Trump win the election in the eyes of the moderate, independent voters?” vs “Would that person make a good functioning VP for four years?”
RD - No. Too much like Trump, and he’s a great governor of a very important state
NH - Not now. She may have had a chance early on if she had moved to support Trump’s positions from the get-go, but she went the wrong way, and hard.
VR - Yes.
TS - Maybe at best. Not on fire enough. Senator’s disease.
BC - No. I feel like he had his shot. Low energy. Cabinet post.
TC - No. No political/executive experience. Better where he is.
KN - Yes, but she needs to ramp up the energy.
SHS - Yes
GMF - No. I feel like he won’t appeal to the middle. Better as COS.
KL - Not yet. She’ll get a shot at something bigger if she wins her Senate race and performs well as a senator.
JDV - No. Too much like Trump. Senator’s disease.
ES - Yes.
MTG - Yes.
BD - Yes.
How about Texas Governor Gregg Abbott? North Carolina Lt. Governor Mark Robinson?
Agree. Most female candidates emote too much. Not enough logic in decisions.
The media knows Trump will be the nominee, so now they are trying to fool the voters into picking a RINO for veep.
DeSantis is Trump’s mini-me (this may surprise a lot people on this site). Politically, DeSantis doesn’t add anything to the ticket. He’d make a great AG though.
The two most solid potential VPs would be Trump’s Sec of State Mike Pompeo and Tx Gov Greg Abbott.
I will offer another possibility, Ben Carson. I mention him because was able to get Trump to reconsider his position on vaccines way back in 2015. How? By being calm, reasoned, and reasonable. He didn’t attack Trump, or attempted to bully Trump with his expertise in medicine. Rather, Carson reached out to Trump in a respectful way.
One of Trump’s strong strengths is his bullish determination once something get fixed in his mind. This is also one of Trump’s biggest weaknesses. Carson would be a good advisor to the President, even if not Vice President, because Carson is one of the few people who can work with Trump.
If Trump goes a little bit squishy he'll pick Tim Scott, but I doubt it.
If Trump goes a little bit sleepy, he might pick Carson, but I don't think Carson will be a good Deep State fighter.
Vivek isn't natural-born, his Mom became a citizen after he was born and his Dad isn't a citizen, so Trump won't pick him.
Lake is busy and will be the Senate candidate in AZ.
Trump may go with a safe pick, Noem.
If Trump goes bold, he may pick Sanders, Donalds or Stefanik.
But I think it's most likely that Trump will pick JD Vance.
Succinctly well put......
Someone with executive experience would be good, someone who has presidential aspirations and is young enough to pursue them in 2028 or beyond. Most important would be to find someone who understands the threat that the Capitol District bureaucracy and allied institutions have become to America, and is willing to fight tooth and nail to uproot and defang them. Alas, I don't see anyone besides Trump with that kind of fire in their belly. That's what we need to be looking for though, not just for VP but for future presidential candidates.
Time for someone to change their name to “ Not Sure” and win the poll
Robinson is currently running for governor of NC. If he wins, and I hope he does, and performs well as governor, he could be a force in 2028.
However, if there was to be a longshot not on the OP list, he might be it.
Good catch.
Simple name recognition at play there.
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