The 2024 Republicans We Think Might Run

We can’t wait to drop off Dementia Joe at old folks home in early 2025 after he is voted out of office (provided that he is even allowed to run). We already took a look at the likely Democrat presidential candidates in a previous post and now we are turning our attention to the Republican frontrunners. We have our favorites and fortunately they are at the front of the pack. Let’s go Red Team!

Donald J. Trump

He’s the only candidate so far to officially throw his hat in the ring, and he’s the only candidate we need. There is certainly a chorus of voices that have been quick to denounce him and bluster that he will likely produce a GOP loss. But they never thought he’d win the first time. And they’ll do anything they can to prevent him from winning in 2024, just like they did in 2020. The propaganda machine is already working overtime, churning out crap in an attempt to smear Trump. We know it’s all lies and we won’t take the bait. They would be wise not to underestimate the continued strong support for Trump.

Here's a recap of Trump’s greatest accomplishments as president:

• 7 million new jobs
• Middle class family income increased $6k
• Lowest unemployment in U.S. history
  • Lowest Black unemployment
  • Lowest Hispanic unemployment
  • Lowest female unemployment
• 16% pay increase for American workers
• Poverty at record low
• 7 million people off food stamps
• Largest tax reform in history
• Criminal justice reform
• Confirmed 230 federal judges and 3 SCOTUS judges
• No new wars
• Destroyed ISIS
• Killed terrorist leaders
• Tore up the Paris Climate Accords
• Canceled the Iran deal
• Dow, S&P 500, and Nasdaq at record highs
• Energy independence
• Lowest gas prices in a generation

In a December 2 poll, Trump was 19 points ahead of DeSantis and is leading the 2024 Republican field:

• Trump 47%
• DeSantis 28%
• Pence 8%
• Haley 3%
• Noem 2%
• Youngkin 1%
• Carlson 1% (Tucker Carlson of Fox News, not running for President)
• Scott 1%

Ron DeSantis

The mainstream media doesn’t like him much, which means that we do. Florida was one of the only states where the non-sensical pandemic frenzy was kept at bay. Under the leadership of DeSantis, Florida has been elevated to the Free State of Florida. That’s the kind of leadership from which we could benefit nationwide. The MSM has been quick to pit Trump and DeSantis against each other. DeSantis has downplayed his intensions to run in 2024, so at this point it’s unknown as to what he will do. But he is a highly viable candidate, which is why smear pieces are starting to appear in various media outlets. We think there is room for both Trump and DeSantis in the Republican party and that the country could benefit from as many years of executive leadership under each of them as possible.

Mike Pence

Trump has made it clear that his former VP will not join him on his ticket this time. Pence took a curious role in the aftermath of the January 6 “riots” – he blamed Trump. Pence recently endorsed Republican primary candidates running against candidates endorsed by Trump, in an effort to distance himself from the former president. A Christian evangelical, Pence has said of himself that he is “a Christian, a conservative, and a Republican, in that order.” He is reportedly building out his political staff, which is an indication that he is gearing up for a 2024 presidential bid. Trump has stated that if Pence were to run in 2024, it would be very disloyal. Pence is known for a lack of charisma and for reportedly referring to his wife of more than 30 years as “Mother”.

Nikki Haley

The former governor of South Carolina has said that she will reveal her decision about running for president in 2024 in early 2023, but in 2021 Haley did state that if Trump ran for president again, she would support him and not contest him. Haley served as the U.S ambassador to the United Nations under President Trump, and was a strong Trump supporter until after January 6 when she distanced herself, as it was clear that Jan. 6 was quickly becoming a witch hunt with Trump cast as the grand high witch. More recently, Haley has stated that she has “never lost” an election and is looking at a presidential bid “in a serious way.” It seems that Haley may be backtracking on her 2021 commitment not to run against Trump; we’ll find out early next year.

Ted Cruz

While Cruz has stated that he will seek a third Senate term in 2024, he has not explicitly ruled out running for president. Cruz came in second to Trump in the 2016 Republican presidential primaries, and in the intervening years Cruz and Trump have become close allies. Cruz showed integrity when he became a vocal advocate for overturning the 2020 presidential results and has called for further investigation of voter fraud (hello, 2000 Mules anyone?). Cruz represents conservative values; he supports gun rights and has called for border control to help mitigate that disaster. He has said that everything President Joe Biden touches “has gone to garbage,” and we agree with him there. Cruz has expressed interest in running for president again; it remains to be seen if he’ll enter the Republican primary against Trump.

Kristi Noem

Noem was recently elected to a second term as the Governor of South Dakota and though she has stated that she will serve a full four-year term, there is speculation that she may make a 2024 presidential bid. A true conservative, during her first term as Governor she wisely decided to not lock down her state. During her recent gubernatorial victory speech, she told the crowd, “It’s my privilege to serve you, to honor our Constitution to keep government limited, and to protect the American ideals of freedom and opportunity.” She has also said about Biden that “if he tries to take our guns, he can take them from our cold, dead hands.” When asked by the media recently if she was considering a presidential bid, she replied, “I don’t rule it out. Just because people bring it up quite often.” We’ll wait and see if Noem has presidential aspirations, but regardless, we respect her conservative views and her leadership style. 

Mike Pompeo

Pompeo, who served as Secretary of State under Trump, has suggested that he is “doing the things one would do to get ready for a presidential run.” After Trump announced his candidacy, Pompeo tweet, “I served in the administration, I’m proud of the policies we laid out. We need more seriousness, less noise, and leaders who are looking forward, not staring the rearview mirror claiming victimhood.” Though Pompeo has said that he would likely make a decision about running by spring 2023, it does seem like he has his eyes on the White House prize. Prior to his role as Secretary of State, he was the director of the Central Intelligence Agency and represented Kansas in the United States House. Pompeo has expressed conservative ideals including being a vocal opponent of the climate change agenda.

Asa Hutchinson

Hutchinson is currently serving his second and final term as the Governor of Arkansas. He has stated that he is seriously considering a White House run in 2024 and has distanced himself from Trump, going so far as to say that the former president is “morally” responsible for whatever actually happened on Jan. 6 (whatever that means). Hutchinson has also stated that he made a mistake banning mask mandates in Arkansas during the pandemic. We would have a hard time supporting anyone who permits mask mandates or anything similar given that they are unconstitutional and that we have the God-given right to freely breathe fresh air. It seems like Hutchinson is creeping towards the center and is attempting positioning himself as a more moderate alternative to Trump.

Larry Hogan

Hogan is wrapping up his final term as Governor of the traditionally blue state of Maryland, and has served as a more moderate Republican. He has presidential aspirations and has stated that the outcome of the 2022 midterms moved him closer to a 2024 bid, though we aren’t sure why as we haven’t heard swaths of conservatives clamoring for Hogan’s leadership. Hogan would likely not appeal to the broader GOP base nationwide given that while 74% of registered Republicans in Maryland approved of Hogan’s job performance in late September of this year, only 35% of those surveyed stated that they would support him for president over Trump.

Josh Hawley

Hawley’s name has come up in talks about potential Republican candidates for 2024, and it is reported that his name will continue to arise even though he has repeatedly said that he won’t be running for president in the next election. Hawley has served as the junior senator from Missouri since 2018; prior to that he was the attorney general of Missouri. During his time in the Senate, Hawley has proven himself to be an America first constitutional conservative. After the 2020 election he said that, “Millions of voters concerned about election integrity deserve to be heard. I will object on January 6 on their behalf.” Though at this point it does not seem likely he will run in 2024, he is definitely worth watching as he continues his efforts to get America back on the right track.

Glenn Youngkin

Youngkin has been popular with Republicans since his gubernatorial victory in the traditionally blue state of Virginia in 2021. While the media keeps floating Younkin’s name as a potential presidential contender, he hasn’t expressed that he is considering a White House run thus far, but it’s still early days. We’ll wait and see on this one.

Tim Scott

Scott, a Senator from South Carolina and the only Black Republican in the Senate, was just elected to what he has said will be his final six-year term. It is widely speculated that he has bigger aspirations, though it isn’t known whether he’ll run for president in 2024 or wait for a later election cycle. Scott previously served on the Charleston County Council, and in the South Carolina House of Representatives as well as the United States House of Representatives. While celebrating his recent Senate win, Scott recounted the story of taking his grandfather to vote in 2012 when his grandfather voted for his Republican grandson and Democrat Barack Obama. Scott went on to say, “I wish [my grandfather] had lived long enough to see perhaps another man of color elected president of the United States. But this time let it be a Republican.” Scott seems set on the highest office; but it remains to be seen if he becomes a contender for 2024.

The real challenge for any Republican candidate is mounting a defense against large scale voter fraud. 2020 and 2022 have established a clear pattern that the longer it takes to tabulate votes in Democrat cities and states as well as in swing states, the more likely it is that the Democrat candidate will be elected. The strategy seems to be to prolong the vote count until they “find” enough votes for the Democrat candidate to win. Large amounts of ballots will get counted in the middle of the night, and the votes will be almost exclusively for the Democrat candidate. Cameras that are supposed remain on at all times to ensure election integrity and fairness will spontaneously go offline. Deceased people will be mailed multiple ballots and will manage to vote from beyond the grave. Paid mules will deposit backpacks full of ballots into drop boxes in the wee hours of the morning. Polling locations will experience myriad problems, ballots won’t be scanned, and voters will be asked to hand them over “to be counted later”. Enough is enough. We call shenanigans. We need the GOP leaders to do something about this and if they won’t, then we need new GOP leaders.