Former President Donald Trump hold a commanding lead among voters in early polling heading into the 2024 Republican presidential primary.
Polling aggregates show Trump holds a staggering 32.4 point advantage over his closest rival, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis.
Casinos have Trump as the clear favorite to win the GOP nomination, and it has left observers already speculating: Who will be the 45th president’s running mate?
Early favorite Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., has lost her standing among some hardliner conservatives and was unceremoniously removed from the America First caucus last month.
The vice presidential polling favorite at the 2023 Conservative Political Action Conference [CPAC], Arizona’s Kari Lake, reportedly quickly rejected the suggestion.
Rep. Elise Stefanik, R-N.Y., is another name that circulated early but has faded to the background since.
With no clear favorite as campaign season heats up, a sleeper candidate for the role has grabbed attention: Rep. Byron Donalds, R-F.L., a Trump campaign headliner.
Speculation has quickly heated up around Donalds as Trump’s VP pick —
Retweet this if you think my friend @RepDonaldsPress @ByronDonalds would make a great choice for Vice President.
— Tim Burchett (@timburchett) May 24, 2023
Donalds addressed the speculation that he is a favorite to be Trump’s running mate in an interview with Breitbart News on Wednesday and said he would “of course” be open to the role.
“If it came up? Oh yeah, of course, because you have the opportunity to do really powerful things for the country and really help shape the country,” Donalds said.
“But I’m a member of Congress,” he said. “I just do my job. I let everybody else speculate on the other stuff.”
Political ally Rep. Cory Mills, R-F.L., endorsed Donalds as a strong pick for Trump’s running mate.
“I can tell you that he’s probably one of the more competent members that you’ll find throughout all of Congress,” he told Breitbart.
Donalds would “be someone who would really be a nice balance for President Trump,” Mills said.
Donalds gained favor in the Trump campaign by endorsing the 45th president over fellow Floridian DeSantis, and has been a regular on the campaign trail since.
With the campaign season still in its early stages, it will be some time before outsiders know if Donalds can retain his frontrunner status.
President Trump, Rep. @ByronDonalds and @ErikaDonalds at Pat’s King of Steaks in Philly! pic.twitter.com/DrAxS5rUy1
— Jason Miller (@JasonMillerinDC) July 1, 2023
The Horn editorial team