As is tradition in American political media, some are alreadyspeculating about who may lead which party four years from now. WithTrump already signaling that he may run in 2024, many wannabe Republican candidates have to weigh their options. So, who are they?
We can expect to see some of Trump’s old rivals from 2016 jump into the ring. Considering his relative youth and previous experience running, it is likely that Sen. Ted Cruz is planning another run for the White House. Cruz — the runner-up for the nomination in 2016 — went from being one of Trump’s most ardentcritics to his most loyal defender. Cruz famouslyrefused to endorse Trump’s candidacy at the 2016 Republican National Convention, but that Ted Cruz is gone. He seems far more interested in national, partisan fights than issues facing Texas. Just last week,thousands of Texans waited in line at the North Texas Food Bank, and the Texas National Guard was sent to El Paso in order to help handle the“morgue overflow” resulting from the pandemic. But based on Cruz’s personal Twitter account, the most important issues facing Texans are Thanksgiving gatherings, censorship of conservatives and the disputed results of the 2020 election. Cruz’s attempts to become a mini-Trump are impressive and depressing, and they might work four years from now.
One pair of senators to keep your eyes on is Sen. Tom Cotton of Arkansas and Sen. Josh Hawley of Missouri. Cotton is a U.S. Army infantry veteran whoserved in Afghanistan and Iraq. Cotton’s most prominent Senate accomplishments include holding up one of President Barack Obama’s diplomatic nominations in order to “inflict special pain on the president.” That nominee, Cassandra Butts, who was aclose friend of President Obama, tragically died while awaiting a Senate vote. Barely seven months after calling for Hong Kong police to cease violence against peaceful demonstrators, Cotton argued for the deployment of the U.S. military in order to crush popular uprisings during Black Lives Matter protests — a testament to his hypocrisy.
Sen. Hawley is a more interesting character. A graduate of Stanford University and Yale Law School,Hawley clerked for Chief Justice John Roberts before serving as Missouri’s attorney general. Hawley has marketed himself as aBible-thumping,corporate-bashing,elitist-despising Midwestern conservative. Despite his Ivy League pedigree and resume, Hawley’sdenunciations of “coastal elites” have made him well-liked among Trump’s base and in the GOP establishment.
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo is alsorumored to be looking at a 2024 candidacy. Last year,Pompeo told the Washington Examiner that he is interested in a presidential run after Trump leaves the spotlight. InJuly, Pompeo even used his official government aircraft and staff to travel to Iowa, the first primary contest state, for a gathering of conservative activists.
No one can possibly know what the political landscape will look like four years from now. But just by looking at this list of potential candidates, it is clear that Trump’s policies, style and influence are not going away anytime soon.
