MANCHESTER, New Hampshire — There are months remaining in the presidential primary process, but speculation is already mounting as to who the front-runner will choose for his second in command.
Former President Donald Trump is far ahead in national polling, with just one Republican primary opponent left in the form of Nikki Haley, the former governor of South Carolina and ambassador to the United Nations.
That has politicos looking ahead to who could replace Mike Pence, the 48th vice president, on Trump’s ticket should Haley drop out — and even to the next election cycle.
“Whoever he picks will be the front-runner for 2028, so it is not an inconsequential choice,” Republican strategist John Feehery said. “I would prefer [Gov. Ron] DeSantis (R-FL) myself, but [Rep.] Elise Stefanik (R-NY) seems to be in a very good spot. Haley took herself out of the competition. A dark horse could be [former House Speaker] Kevin McCarthy.”
Trump may be fueling the speculation himself, rolling out rumored candidates at his rallies. Arizona Senate candidate Kari Lake, who has been floated as a possible candidate for vice president, appeared at Sunday’s rally in Rochester, New Hampshire.
Monday’s rally in Laconia featured almost a half-dozen people who have been mentioned for the vice president slot. Sen. Tim Scott (R-SC), Gov. Doug Burgum (R-ND), and entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy all spoke onstage in support of the former president. Trump said that Reps. Byron Donalds (R-FL) and Marjorie Taylor-Greene (R-GA) were in attendance as well.
Scott, who recently got engaged, was showered with special praise by Trump when he was introduced.
“Everybody knows him, and today, it was a big story, the biggest story out there — he’s engaged to be married,” Trump said. “We never thought this was going to happen! What’s going on? A very, very fine person, a man that we worked so closely and I worked so closely with. He’s been there now a long time and is one of the most respected people in all of Washington, Sen. Tim Scott.”
The South Carolina senator endorsed Trump last week, which was a big blow to Haley.
St. Louis University Professor Emeritus Joel Goldstein, an expert on the vice presidency, said vice presidents are typically announced in late June or early July, so it may be too early to guess, but he acknowledged that past practice may not be a guide for Trump.
“Historically, presidential candidates try to send messages about themselves by their VP choice, how they make decisions and what they value,” Goldstein said. “That seems less important with someone like Trump, given how fixed attitudes about him seem to be.”
Vice presidents can sometimes be chosen to shore up support among groups with whom the top candidate is weak, such as Vice President Kamala Harris helping drive turnout among female and minority voters or former Vice President Mike Pence, who was seen as a nod to traditional conservatives and evangelicals.
Pence appeared on both the 2016 and 2020 tickets, but he had a falling out with Trump over his handling of the latter election and the events of Jan. 6. Pence ran against Trump in 2024 but dropped out after failing to escape single-digit polling.
New Hampshire voters who spoke to the Washington Examiner outside of Manchester Memorial High School had lots of ideas about what should happen.
Eddie Blas, a 1973 Memorial High graduate, said he would like to see either a Trump-Haley ticket or a Haley-Trump ticket, with either name appearing at the top. Blas, now 69 and a disabled veteran, said it was a tough decision but that he voted for Haley on the strength of Gov. Chris Sununu’s (R-NH) endorsement.
“She’s very pragmatic,” Blas said. “She doesn’t dump on people, make fun of them, or call them names. And she’s articulate — she speaks like she’s talking to the man on the street. That’s why I like her.”
But he likes Trump as well and would also take Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL) for second in command.
Wayne Boucher, 56, is voting for Trump in part because he has been unable to find work as a mechanical engineer for the last year and feels that the former president would revive the economy. As for vice president, Boucher said he would like to see Ramaswamy on the ticket.
“I think his policies are really good, and if Trump wasn’t running, I would have voted for him,” Boucher said.
Others were less interested in who Trump would pick. Haley voters who wanted her at the top of the ticket were less invested in Trump’s running mate, and not surprisingly, supporters of President Joe Biden said they wouldn’t be swayed by Trump’s choice of vice president.
“I have absolutely no idea [who he’ll pick],” said Zen Williams, a 51-year-old cybersecurity engineer. “There’s so much vitriol and hatred. I would hate to think that anyone would want to be attached to that.”
— Mabinty Quarshie contributed to this story.