WASHINGTON (AP) – Less than three months after former President Donald Trump left the White House, the race to succeed him has already begun.
Former Trump Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, has launched an aggressive schedule visiting states that will play a key role in the 2024 Republican primaries and has signed a contract with Fox News Channel. Mike Pence, Trump’s former vice president, has created a political advocacy group, concluded a book deal and at the end of this month he will deliver his first speech since he left office in South Carolina. And Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has been courting donors, including in Trump’s backyard, with a prominent space to speak in front of the former president at a GOP fundraising dinner this month at Mar-a-Lago, the Florida station where Trump now lives.
Trump ended his presidency with such firm control over Republican voters that party leaders worried he would freeze the field of possible 2024 candidates, delaying preparations as he mocked another candidacy. Instead, many Republicans with national ambitions are openly laying the groundwork for campaigns as Trump continues to reflect on his own plans..
They raise money, hire contracts, and work to strengthen their name recognition. The moves reflect both the party’s fervor to reclaim the White House and the reality that mounting a modern presidential campaign is a multi-year effort.
“You build the bow before it rains,” said Michael Steel, a Republican strategist who worked for Jeb Bush’s 2016 presidential campaign, among others. “They’ll do the things they have to do if they decide not to run.”
Trump, at least for now, gives them a lot of leeway, convinced they pose little threat to their own ambitions.
“It is a free country. People can do whatever they want, “Trump adviser Jason Miller said in response to the moves.” But, “he added,” if the present Trump decides to run in 2024, the nomination will be his if pays attention to the public votes of Republican voters. ”
Polls show Trump remains a dominant figure among Republican voters, despite his November loss to Democrat Joe Biden. Republican leaders, including those who may one day expect him to succeed him, have been careful to take care of his ego and made it clear that they have no intention of challenging his position.
Florida Sen. Rick Scott, chairman of the Republican National Senate Committee, presented Trump last weekend with a new “Freedom Champion Award,” which the group unveiled, with a photo of a smiling and Trump’s golf suit that had a small, shiny Cup, even after the former president went after Republican Senate leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky in a speech laden with blasphemy.
A day later, former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, who many consider a top-tier candidate for 2024, told The Associated Press that he will run for office if Trump reappears.
“I wouldn’t show up if President Trump showed up and talk to him about it,” he said in Orangeburg, South Carolina. “We’ll talk about that at some point, if that decision is to be made.”
The deference is, in part, a recognition of Trump’s continued power. Even out of the office and without his Twitter megaphone, Trump remains very popular among the Republican Party base and is bolstered by an $ 85 million war chest that can be shared with approved candidates, spend -in advertising and use it to fund travel and pay for votes and consultants.
Trump is planning to increase his visibility soon, with helpers debating options for holding rallies as early as late spring or summer. “There’s a pretty strong demand to get President Trump to go on the road,” Miller said.
Many Republicans acknowledge that Trump would jump to the helm of the gang if he chooses to run for president other than Grover Cleveland. to meet two non-consecutive terms. Still, there is deep skepticism in many corners of the party that Trump will present again.
While people close to him insist he is serious, many see Trump’s continued flirtations as a means to maintain his relevance as he has settled into a comfortable life after the White House. In Mar-a-Lago, in Palm Beach, he is courted by candidates and is met with applause and applause whenever he enters the dining room.
Meanwhile, other potential candidates are making moves, though many of his aides insist his focus is on next year’s congressional elections and helping Republicans regain control of the House and Senate.
Jeff Kaufmann, president of the Iowa Republican Party, said activity in his state has begun even earlier this year than in the last two election cycles, as all candidates on his potential list 2024 they have already visited the first state or have thought of visiting it. the GOP nomination schedule.
“I don’t know anyone (honestly anyone) who hesitates to go out,” he said. “Now some are a little more subtle than others, but that’s not necessarily related to Donald Trump. It may be tied to his campaign style and he doesn’t want to get too far ahead of the skis until they see if they have any. kind of traction “.
Pompey, arguably the most aggressive so far, is among those who have already spent time in Iowa as well as New Hampshire, and this past week he addressed Rabbi Shmuley Boteach’s global stock network in New York, where was presented by a video of the Republican. megadonor Miriam Adelson. And on Saturday, he led the annual Palm Beach County Republican Party Lincoln Day dinner in Mar-a-Lago along with Scott and DeSantis.
DeSantis, who is set to be re-elected next year, recently hired a top Republican strategist to serve as executive director of the Association of Republican Governors. DeSantis has also been using the race to build a deep fundraising network that could support him if he chooses to run nationwide.
The party, which for a time seemed paralyzed by the split, has joined more in its opposition to Biden, though Trump continues to skimp on McConnell and is working to defeat the incumbents who voted for his removal. Republicans in Congress have found a common cause against Biden’s border policies, voting against his COVID-19 relief bill and pushing for new voting restrictions, while against corporate interference in the debate over the voting rights.
“I think you’ll find a broad agreement in our party that we need to have a debate on politics,” said Rep. Liz Cheney, R-Wyoming, the No. 3 Republican in the House, who continues to face a huge backlash after all. to vote for Trump impeachment. “We have to talk politics,” he said as he spoke at Georgetown University’s Institute of Politics and Public Service last week.
Regardless of Trump’s final decision, his critics and acolytes say they see the party’s future as dependent on maintaining its appeal to Trump voters, while winning the suburban voters who left them last fall.
I think everyone is trying to find this magical combination of ‘Trump-plus’, of continuing to appeal to the new voters that President Trump brought to the Republican coalition, while at the same time reclaiming some of the college-trained suburbs that were repelled. beds for their traps, ”Steel said.
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Associated Press writer Meg Kinnard in Orangeburg, South Carolina, contributed to this report.