Analysis by Summer Lane | Photo: Alamy
As President Donald Trump continues to dominate 2024 GOP primary political polling, several well-known Republican candidates have jumped into the political fray, hoping for a chance at claiming the White House.
While the 2024 primary is just over one year away, election season is already in full swing. Candidates across the country have taken aim at bringing their political platform and message to Republican voters nationwide.
Here are the five most prominent GOP candidates who have declared their intention to fight for the White House next year.
45th President Donald J. Trump
President Trump has handily mopped the floor with his opponents since he announced his 2024 candidacy last November. He is leading by an average of 30 to 40 points in most GOP primary polls, demonstrating significant political power on a national level.
Harvard-Harris polling, for example, found that Trump held a whopping 42-point lead over the runner up, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R).
Trump is the only candidate in the race who has a track record of presidential achievement to back up his bold new Agenda47 platform. He has promised to root out Deep State corruption, end the war in Ukraine, and secure the southern border. His staunch stand against Washington establishment politicians have endeared him to everyday American voters.
“They’re not coming after me,” Trump said in March. “They’re coming after you. I’m just standing in their way, and I always will stand in their way.”
Governor Ron DeSantis
In the last week, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) joined the presidential race after months of speculation as to whether he would launch a campaign for the 2024 GOP primary. DeSantis deviated from the norm and announced his candidacy on Twitter Spaces, alongside billionaire and Tesla CEO Elon Musk.
As reported by RSBN, DeSantis’s platform is heavily centered on terminating the “woke mind virus” that has taken hold of America’s academic institutions, entertainment, and military. He has also emphasized a return to economic balance and institutional dignity. However, he has not yet put forth detailed policy plans regarding these issues, and he has not touched on foreign policy at this point.
DeSantis is a popular conservative figure, and his candidacy will doubtless begin to take a more solid shape as the months progress. Right now, the Florida governor is polling significantly behind Trump. A new Marquette poll found that Trump held 46 percent of GOP primary voters’ support against the governor’s 25 percent.
Per RSBN, DeSantis stated during a town hall event on Wednesday night, “We should choose a new direction, a path that will lead to American revitalization. We need to restore sanity to our nation, normalcy to our communities, and integrity to our institutions.”
Nikki Haley
Former Republican South Carolina Governor and U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley has not faired particularly well in the political race for the 2024 GOP primary nomination. She has consistently polled at around 4 or 5 percent in most GOP political surveys. Marquette found that she held just 4 percent of GOP voters’ primary support, for example.
In 2021, Haley caught heat from MAGA supporters for publicly criticizing President Trump’s handling of the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol protests in Washington, D.C. Shortly after her announcement in February, RSBN revealed that Haley had earned 16.4 percent of GOP primary support in her home state of South Carolina against Trump’s 35.1 percent.
Vivek Ramaswamy
Largely unknown to many GOP voters until his candidacy announcement in February, Ramaswamy has made waves with conservative commentators and talk show hosts for his even-keeled interviews and solid policy pitches. According to Politico, Ramaswamy is mostly self-funded, thanks to his deep pockets after years of investing and working as a pharmaceutical CEO.
He is also the New York Times bestselling author of several books, including “Woke: Inc: Inside Corporate America’s Social Justice Scam” and “Nation of Victims: Identity Politics, the Death of Merit, and the Path Back to Excellence.”
Senator Tim Scott
South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott (R) entered the presidential fray in May, bringing a message focused on optimism and encouragement for beleaguered American voters.
“I’m living proof that America is the land of opportunity. Made in America,” he wrote on Twitter. “That’s my story. To the radical Left that says we’re an evil declining country, I say the truth of my life disproves your lies. I have faith in America & our president should too.”
He has stated that he would be a president “who destroys the liberal lie that America is an evil country.”
President Trump notably endorsed Sen. Scott in his 2022 reelection campaign bid last year.
