Donald Trump chose Pence to balance the ticket ideologically, in the wake of Trump's sex escapades he needed an unimpeachable Christian to shore up his evangelical supporters.
Perhaps the most successful geographical choice was Lyndon Johnson by John F. Kennedy because Johnson delivered the barrios, legitimately and illegitimately, along the Mexican border which won the state of Texas, without which Kennedy would not have been President. This even though that, within the matrix of the Democrat party in 1960, Kennedy and Johnson were light years apart and both were despised by the their opposite camps.
If Trump needs a geographical help it would not come from any state of any candidates mentioned here. Trump does not need Florida, South Carolina or Ohio. He will not get enough help from Stefanik in New York to make a difference. Trump needs Pennsylvania, Michigan or Wisconsin; Doctor Ben Carson hails from Michigan and that is a very compelling consideration if one believes that Carson's presence on the ticket could make the decisive difference there.
Without polling data we are unable to make a considered judgment on Carson's potential to deliver Michigan. On the whole, I am of the opinion voiced by many on this thread that Carson simply does not have the charisma nor the aggression to fill the adversarial role of vice presidential candidates, to attack. Further, as noble a character as Doctor Carson undoubtedly is, I don't believe he is simply mean and ornery enough to win election in his own right and carry on as a conservative in office after 2028 and stand against the slings and arrows that a corrupt Democrat party and their corrupt media will hurled against him.
It seems that an overwhelming factor motivating Trump in his selection of subordinates has always been loyalty. Carson, if nothing else, is steadfast but that is not the moral basis for the selection. If Trump wants to act as a statesman he will select someone who can, above all, serve the nation as president. Carson would serve honorably but, I fear, not effectively. One can understand Trump's desire to have a loyal running mate after his experience with Pence and in view of the fact that the vice president is a constitutional officer over whom the president has no effective constitutional control but this is a decision for the ages.
An interesting consideration in the selection is personified by Senator Vance and Senator Cotten. Cotton is not specifically named in this list but he has been otherwise prominently mentioned. Senator Vance is a non-interventionist who was unambiguously clear in his opposition to the war in Ukraine while Cotton has spoken loudly in support of Ukraine and need to protect Taiwan. These two men embody contending policies concerning America's policies beyond the water's edge. In terms of public persona and quality of presentation on television there is nothing to choose between them and, therefore, the choice is whether one believes in a hard-line against foreign adventures or whether one sees the need to avoid another Afghanistan skedaddle that might lead to a disaster in Taiwan because we continue to betray our allies to the point that they abandon us. This is one of the main clefts in the Republican Party; as the age of Mitch McConnell begins to slip into unlamented memory, the issue of American foreign policy will have to be settled. Perhaps the fact that Senator Cotten has apparently been left off this shorter list tells us what Trump believes.
Representative Donalds offers the possibility of thoroughly poaching in the Democrats' traditional African-American domain and delivering us the election. Donalds is highly articulate and reliably conservative who hopefully has a very bright future in the Republican Party but it is a big jump to go from the House of Representatives to the national stage. Representatives Stefanik is equally articulate and able but she, too, is handicapped because she stands on a limited platform. In my judgment the best man for the job, even before Vance or Cotton, is Governor DeSantis who has gravitas, who is a proven executive, a brilliant mind, and a bona fide conservative who will assuredly carry on the policies of Donald Trump because he is a good chance of becoming president and 2028 and beyond. The problem of his coming from the same state as Trump can easily be rectified by Trump declaring his residence in New Jersey as Dick Cheney similarly did when he moved from Texas. DeSantis never puts a foot down wrong, he will not make any mistakes or embarrass the ticket, he will unite the party in this sense that we know we have a man in the wings ready to be president from day one. I believe the only problem is Trump's concerns about loyalty which we may view as an obsession or as prudence born of history.
