Related Articles
The presidential primary seasonis over, and now that former President Donald Trump has secured the Republican nomination, he’s getting questions about who’s on his VP short list and what qualities he’s looking for in a running mate.
In February, while the primaries were still underway, Trump told Fox News’ Maria Bartiromo that he wasn’t planning to announce his choice “for awhile.” He said he was looking for someone who’s “able to be a good president” and told Bartiromo he had been talking to a number of people and mentioned South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott and South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem.
In January, he’d said of his potential running mate, “I know who it’s going to be,” but offered no further detail.
Most candidates don’t announce a running mate until the official nominating conventions are held in the summer, and Trump is expected to follow that precedent. Sources close to the Trump campaign say they have advised Trump to withhold announcing the nomination until the convention to build suspense and increase his leverage over candidates vying for the role.
Potential picks whom sources within Trump’s orbit have discussed for the role have been prominently featured on the campaign trail with the former president. Here are seven of them.
New York Rep. Elise Stefanik
New York Rep. Elise Stefanik is one of Trump’s fiercest defenders. As the No. 4 House Republican, she was one of the first members of Congress to endorse Trump when he announced his third bid for the White House.
Thirty-nine year-old Stefanik is almost half the age of Trump, who is 77 years old. She is seen as someone who would carry the torch for the MAGA movement he began and has fought for Trump on numerous occasions as a key member of his impeachment defense team in 2019.
In January, she echoed Trump’s characterization of jailed Jan. 6 defendants as “hostages,” and she’s filed multiple ethics complaints against judges in cases involving the former president. Stefanik was one of 147 Republicans who voted against certifying the 2020 election results.
Sources tell CBS News that Trump sees Stefanik as a potential running mate. When asked whether she would serve as his vice president, Stefanik told NBC News’ “Meet the Press” that she would be “honored to serve in any capacity in a Trump administration.”
South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott
The South Carolina senator dodged questions about being Trump’s vice president when he was running for president himself. He dropped his bid for the White House in November, and heendorsed Trump just before the New Hampshire primary in a blow to fellow South Carolinian and former Gov. Nikki Haley, who appointed him to a vacant U.S. Senate seat.
Trump told Bartiromo that he had called Scott and told him, “‘You are a much better candidate for me than you are for yourself.'”
“We need Donald Trump,” Scott told a crowd of Trump supporters at a Jan. 19 rally in Concord, New Hampshire. “We need a president who will unite our country.”
Trump praised Scott as a “man of faith, courage and conviction, a man who fought for those opportunities zones like nobody would ever fight and school choice and also taking care of the historically black colleges.”
Scott,the highest-ranking Black Republican in the GOP, could help Trump court Black voters, traditionally a key Democratic voting bloc.
Scott told “CBS Mornings” that he would never ask for a cabinet position from Trump, but declined to answer whether he wants to serve as Trump’s vice president.
“The one thing I want to do is make sure we win in 2024,” he told “CBS Mornings” anchor Gayle King, “I don’t think about this from a personal perspective.”
South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem
Noem has been fiercely loyal to Trump and has long been mentioned as a vice presidential candidate. Hailing from the red state of South Dakota, Noem considered a 2024 presidential run, but ultimately decided not to pursue it when Trump announced he was running again.
“I think he’s gonna run. And if President Trump runs, I’ll support him,” Noem told CBS News’ Major Garrett in 2022.
She rose to prominence in 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic when she refused to implement strict mask mandates in South Dakota.
Noem was one of the first governors to endorse Trump, announcing she was backing him at a rally last September, and she campaigned for him several times in Iowa before the January caucuses. Noem told Newsmax in September that she would consider the vice presidential slot “in a heartbeat.” She also has close ties to MAGA world and with former Trump campaign manager Corey Lewandowski.
North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum
North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum — another former 2024 presidential candidate — has also been raised by the Trump campaign as a potential running mate. Burgum was the first of the former 2024 presidential candidates to officially endorse Trump, joining him for a rally in Indianola, Iowa, on Jan. 14, the eve of before the caucuses, to announce his support.
The Trump team likes Burgum, who refrained from saying anything negative about the former president when he was a candidate himself. Burgum is seen as a solid conservative with credentials that could be a good fit for various cabinet positions, including vice president.
“He’s one of the best governors in our country, and I hope that I’m going to be able to call on him to be a piece of the administration, a very important piece of the administration,” Trump said of Burgum during the Jan. 14 rally.
As governor, Burgum signed into law a six-week abortion ban and legislation to restrict transgender rights. He’s also a fiscal hawk who has cut state spending while enacting the largest tax cut in North Dakota history. He’s led North Dakota since 2016 and announced in January that he would not seek a third term as governor.
Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders
The former Trump administration official and current governor of Arkansas is another young, female conservative likely being considered by Trump for the ticket. Sanders, 41, is the youngest governor in the country and is seen as a rising star in the party who can speak to suburban women. Last year, Sanders delivered the Republican response to President Biden’s State of the Union address. She officially endorsed Trump during a campaign rally in Hialeah, Florida, in November 2023.
But Sanders has dismissed the idea of serving as vice president. When asked by “Face the Nation” moderator Margaret Brennan if she’d say yes to joining the Trump ticket, Gov. Sanders said, “I am honored to serve as governor, and I hope I get to do it for the next seven years.”
Former HUD Secretary Dr. Ben Carson
Carson, a renowned neurosurgeon and former secretary of Housing and Urban Development, was one of the longest-serving cabinet secretaries during Trump’s administration. Carson remained loyal to the former president after Jan. 6, when several cabinet secretaries resigned in protest, citing the attack on the Capitol.
Carson — who ran against Trump in the 2016 presidential primary — campaigned for the former president in Iowa before the caucuses. The devout Christian told a church full of Trump supporters to look less at Trump’s words and more at what he has accomplished when voting for him.
“He’s a strong believer. Now, sometimes that might not be reflected in his speech, but I always say, ‘Isn’t it better to look at what a person does?'” Carson said.
Carson is seen as someone who would be a safe choice for vice president, since he is well-liked by conservatives and Christians. In response to whether he and Trump have had discussions about serving as vice president, Carson said, “I don’t want to speak about private conversations.”
Florida Sen. Marco Rubio
The senior senator from Florida – and ex-2016 presidential rival to Trump – is also under consideration as a potential running mate in 2024. Rubio, the son of two Cuban immigrants, is seen as someone who could help the campaign in appealing to Latino voters.
Rubio endorsed Trump the day before the Iowa caucuses in a post on X, and referenced working with Trump on the expanded Child Tax Credit and sanctions on Venezuela and Cuba during his presidency.
“I support Trump because that kind of leadership is the ONLY way we will get the extraordinary actions needed to fix the disaster Biden has created,” Rubio wrote.
In an interview with Glenn Beck on March 21, Rubio said that he hadn’t spoken to Trump or his campaign about being considered for vice president.
“The reason I’m in public service and the reason why I even ran for reelection — it’s a six-year contract you sign when you come here — is I still want to save this country,” Rubio said. “I love this country with all my heart. It changed the life of my family and the trajectory of my family. I mean, I’m not saying that people whose families were born here don’t love the country this well, but when your parents came from somewhere else, you realize that but for the grace of God and the existence of America, how different my life would have been. I think this country is in a lot, a lot of trouble.”
This isn’t the first time Rubio’s been on the short list for vice president. The Florida senator was also a top contender to be on the ticket with Utah Sen. Mitt Romney, the 2012 GOP nominee. Romney ended up choosing then Wisconsin GOP Rep. Paul Ryan on their failed White House bid.
Sources in Rubio’s office declined to comment.
