Pak Sahafat – Former US President Donald Trump, shortly after the 2022 mid-term elections and after the disappointing results for the Republican, announced that he plans to run for president again in 2024.
So far, Trump is the only Republican representative who has officially announced his candidacy, and in most polls, he is the preferred choice among American supporters of this party.
However, the former US president has faced legal challenges, including the FBI’s investigation into the classified documents case and the January 6 committee’s criminal investigation into the attack on Congress, but he has not been convicted of any charges, and the Department of Justice will make the final decision with possible charges.
According to American media reports, recently in some polls, Trump has seen a decrease in his popularity among Republicans. Republican Florida Governor Ron DeSantis has emerged as a serious challenger to Trump in the presidential election.
Newsweek magazine has taken a look at the status of Trump’s strongest rivals who can challenge him in the Republican primaries.
Ron DeSantis
Florida’s Republican governor easily won another midterm election in 2022. By supporting issues such as the Corona guidelines and the vaccine for this disease, he showed his intellectual difference from Trump’s base and was able to be raised at the national level in America.
DeSantis has been more popular than Trump in most polls.
According to a December 14-15 Harvard University and Harris Institute poll of 1,851 candidates, if DeSantis is nominated, Trump may face tougher competition. While the poll showed Trump ahead of DeSantis by 23 percent in an at-large race, DeSantis would win a two-way race against the former president by 4 percentage points.
Mike Pence
Donald Trump’s former vice president, Mike Pence, has repeatedly talked about running for president, however his team has recently denied reports that Pence is running now.
But Pence visited Iowa and New Hampshire in 2022, two states that will vote Republican in the primary, and supported Republican candidates in the midterm elections, some of whom opposed Trump. Pence also reportedly spoke with political donors.
Trump and his allies have been highly critical of Pence, which could make it difficult for him to gain the support he needs to challenge the former president among the Republican base.
Chris Sunono
New Hampshire Governor Chris Sununo recently stated in an interview with American media that if Trump runs again, he “cannot sit idle.”
Sunono has not yet indicated a desire to run for president in 2024, but a political committee aligned with him has begun campaigning on social media in the early voting states of Iowa and South Carolina.
However, Sununo does not have the national profile of Trump, Pence, and DeSantis. He is considered a moderate and was recently re-elected to his fourth two-year term as governor of New Hampshire by a margin of 15 points.
Liz Cheney
Former Wyoming Gov. Liz Cheney may be Trump’s most prominent Republican critic, having played a key role in investigating him as vice chairman of the House Jan. 6 Committee.
In October, Cheney announced that he was considering a presidential run.
Nikki Haley
Former South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley is considered a close Trump ally and previously said in April 2021 that she would not seek the 2024 nomination if Trump announced his candidacy.
However, Haley said during a program at Clemson University in November that he would use the Christmas break to consider his options.
Haley, who served as U.S. ambassador to the United Nations for two years in the Trump administration, may be more popular than Sunonu, but he ranks lower than DeSantis or Pence.
Mike Pompeo
Unlike Haley, former US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has announced that he will run in 2024 even if Trump is nominated again.
Pompeo said in December that he would announce his intentions in the spring of 2023, telling Fox News that he and his family were “looking into it.”
The 60th US presidential election will be held on Tuesday, November 5, 2024. The winner of the 2024 election will serve as president after his inauguration from January 20, 2025 to January 20, 2029.