Washington, Jan 26 (IANS): With former US President Donald Trump bulldozing his way to secure the vital GOP nomination for the 2024 Presidential race, fresh after his victories in the Iowa and New Hampshire voting, speculation is once again rife over whom he will pick as his running mate to become the Vice President, the media reported.
Though Nikki Haley's fight is far from over, with her home turf South Carolina set to vote followed by New York and California, Trump's nomination by the GOP is almost certain. Focus is now on who will be his running mate and names of several firebrands crop up.
With Donald Trump poised to capture the 2024 Republican presidential nomination, the former president is effectively holding auditions for a running mate -- and a growing list of vice presidential hopefuls is starting to surface, media reports said.
Many hopefuls quite literally lined up behind Trump as he delivered a victory speech after winning the GOP primary in New Hampshire, where he easily overcame a challenge from former South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley by 11 percentage points, reports said.
Principal among them are -- Senator Tim Scott of South Carolina, entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy, North Dakota Governor Doug Burgum and Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia, all of whom stood with confident smiles, nodding along in agreement as Trump attacked Haley and her decision to stay in the race post-New Hampshire.
While media speculation throws up several candidates, Trump has said very little about whom he or she he has shortlisted or even what qualities he’s looking for in a potential candidate, media reports said.
"The person that I think I like is a very good person, pretty standard," he said in a recent Fox News interview.
"I think people won't be that surprised, but I would say there's probably a 25 per cent chance it would be that person," he said.
A closer look at the list reveals the following names for the post.
Gov. Doug Burgum -- The North Dakota governor, one of the earliest to drop out of the 2024 presidential race, ran on small-town, business-savvy, conservative-values charm. The investor turned politician, who shot to the top spot in his state's government in 2016, used his personal wealth to sustain his short-lived campaign. He was on hand in New Hampshire on primary day, stumping for Trump and glad-handing with voters.
Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene -- The Georgia Republican congresswoman made a name for herself as a firebrand, former Freedom Caucus conservative, and has remained for long as a staunch Trump ally and a central player in his grip over House Republicans and their agenda. She has been calling for the Republican Party to fall in line behind Trump for months now, and attempted to put a fine point on that message ahead of the New Hampshire contest.
Kari Lake -- The former TV anchor and long-time Trump ally lost her bid for Arizona governor in 2022 – one of several high-profiles, Trump-endorsed candidates who lost in the midterm election cycle. She has been a strong ally supporting his false claims of election fraud in the 2020 presidential election, and even challenged the results of her own governor's race. She is currently running for a Senate seat and had campaigned for Trump in Iowa and New Hampshire.
Vivek Ramaswamy -- Shortly after dropping out of the 2024 presidential primary, Ramaswamy was on the trail with Trump, delivering fiery speeches across New Hampshire in preparation for the primary there. The former pharmaceutical executive and hedge fund manager, who at 38 years old was the youngest in the primary. Ramadwamy ran an aggressive campaign, staking out Trumpian or farther-right stances on issues like state-level abortion bans and affirmative action.
Sen. Tim Scott -- The South Carolina senator, who was first appointed to that position by Haley, is one of the most prominent Black Republicans in the country. Once Trump's challenger in the primary, he ran an optimistic campaign about the American Dream, pulling from his personal narrative and focusing on the importance of faith and a good education.
Rep. Elise Stefanik -- the New York congresswoman is the highest-ranking woman in House GOP leadership. Once concerned with keeping Trump at arm’s length, she made a household name for herself defending Trump during his first impeachment proceedings and for later castigating university presidents for failing to counter anti-Semitism.
Sen. J.D. Vance -- the "Hillbilly Elegy" lawyer turned author turned Ohio politician rode to GOP fame on the coattails of Trump – a high-profile candidate who Trump endorsed and actually won in the 2022 midterm elections, in which Republicans otherwise underperformed. Like others among the former president's allies, Vance was once a staunch Trump critic, but he is now one of his most allegiant foot soldiers in the Senate.