A large field of presidential contenders in 2024 could lead to a redo of the 2016 presidential race and help make Donald Trump the Republican presidential candidate once again, according to Sen. Mitt Romney (R-Utah).
“That’s the only way [scenario] can be prevented if narrowed down to two people race in the end. That means donors and influencers are saying to their candidates — if they’re getting weaker: ‘Hey, it’s time to get out,'” Romney told HuffPost in an interview Tuesday.
“The last time he did it was in 1968, so it’s been a long time,” Romney added, referring to the 1968 presidential election in which his father George Romney ran.
Former South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley on Tuesday became the first Republican to announce her candidacy for the White House after Trump, who launched his 2024 campaign in November. Haley, who also served as U.S. ambassador to the U.N. during the Trump administration, called for “a new generation of leadership” in a video announcing her candidacy.
Romney said he sees Haley as an “underdog” in the race. Trump, the senator added, “is the most likely” to be the GOP presidential nominee because of his popularity and name recognition with a specific slice of the GOP electorate. (Romney is apparently not a fan: He voted to impeach Trump in two consecutive Senate impeachment trials).
Trump is expected to face a crowded field of contenders for the GOP presidential nomination as in the 2016 election. In the race, many candidates split their support among GOP voters and donors, which led to Trump getting the nomination.
Much has been written about Trump’s “diminished” influence on the GOP, especially after the party’s weak performance in the 2022 midterm elections. , following him.
Although GOP leaders are in no rush to embrace Trump 2024, he still has plenty of support on Capitol Hill, including from some newly elected lawmakers. Sen. Markwayne Mullin (R-Okla.) last week became the fifth GOP senator to support the Trump campaign, call those who seek to overthrow democracy in the days before January 6, 2021, riots in the US Capitol “exactly the president we need to lead this country through a difficult path.”
Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R-Ala.) said he believes the 2024 race will be “open” even though he supports the Trump campaign.
“President Trump will have a base of 25-30%. He has a lot of work to grow. DeSantis has made his name on the conservative menu,” he said, adding that “it’s good for our party” if many candidates jump and there is a healthy competition for the nomination the president.
Trump has lashed out at DeSantis, sharing wild accusations about the conservative heartthrob on social media platform TruthSocial that suggested DeSantis “groomed high school girls with alcohol” when he was a teacher. The former president has also tried nicknames for DeSantis, including “Ron DeSantimonious” and “Ron Meatball.” DeSantis has chosen to ignore the attacks, saying he is not focused on “burning” his fellow Republicans.
“That’s how he does it,” Tuberville told HuffPost when asked about Trump’s TruthSocial post. “They try to take dolls from people. Of course that’s what you do as a contractor in New York. You get into arguments, you complain, you fight with each other, and then you have dinner at night. We’re all on the same team.”
Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-La.), who voted to condemn Trump over the January 6 attack on the Capitol, suggested that a large field of presidential candidates will narrow relatively quickly due to lack of resources.
“Even though there are some people who advertise, how many people have money? If you don’t have money, you can’t buy name recognition. If you can’t buy name recognition, you falter early,” Cassidy said.
Sen. Mike Braun (R-Ind.), who supported Trump in the past but never made another endorsement while he was governor of Indiana, predicted a final showdown between Trump and DeSantis. Florida’s governor has yet to announce whether he will launch a bid for the White House.
“No one else has registered above [percent]” in the early polls of the race, Braun said.
Democrats, meanwhile, consider the possibility of another match between Trump and President Joe Biden in the 2024 general election as quite serious, although they believe that it will ultimately benefit the party if the results of last year’s midterm elections are a sign of Trump’s unpopularity with the swing. voters.
Sen. Tim Kaine (D-Va.), the 2016 Democratic vice presidential candidate, said all signs point to the same dynamic that initially propelled Trump to the GOP presidential nomination.
“The name ID edge in a multi-candidate field is even stronger than the name ID edge in a two-candidate field,” Kaine said. “[Trump] can be in their own lane and then everyone competes in the non-Trump lane. I think the same dynamic is possible in 2024.
“Every new entrant will make them happier and happier,” Kaine added of Trump and the 2024 GOP race.