Several Republican presidential candidates are coming out and assuring voters that their goal is to become president of the United States in 2024, despite former President Donald Trump holding a 50-point lead over most of them.
Trump himself said on Sunday that he sees some rival GOP candidates as "good potential Cabinet members" and a possible running mate, as well. However, GOP candidates have been quick to shoot down speculation that they entered the 2024 election to become vice president under Trump or anyone.
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A RealClearPolitics analysis of recent polls shows Trump leading in all of them, with an RCP average of 53%. He holds a 32.4% lead against Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL), who polls at 20.6%. All other GOP candidates, such as former Vice President Mike Pence, former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, Sen. Tim Scott (R-SC), and entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy, poll at single digits in most polls and have yet to break into double digits.
DeSantis said last week on the Wisconsin Right Now podcast that he is not interested in becoming Trump's running mate.
“I’m not a No. 2 guy,” DeSantis said. “I think I’m a leader. Governor of Florida, I’ve been able to accomplish a lot. I think I probably could do more staying there than being VP, which doesn’t really have any authority.”
GOP presidential candidate Larry Elder, who has an RCP average of 0.3%, told the Washington Examiner "I'm running for president" when asked if his goal was to sit in the White House or in the Cabinet.
Other candidates have been pushing back against claims that their end goal is to secure a position under Trump. Haley has repeatedly said she doesn't "play for second."
The team for Gov. Doug Burgum (R-ND), who polls at an RCP average of 0.2%, pointed the Washington Examiner to a June article in which he said he would not settle for a Cabinet position.
“We’re in it to win, and that’s what we’re shooting for," Burgum said at the time. "If for some reason that’s not in the plans, I think you’d see me as running for a third term as governor of North Dakota as opposed to running for a Cabinet position.”
Former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, who is polling at an RCP average of 2.5%, quickly shut down speculation that he was in the race for anything other than the GOP nomination on Sunday.
“I’m not in this for showtime. I’m not in this for making a point. I’m in this to get elected president of the United States, and there are only two people who will get elected president of the United States: the Republican nominee for president and the Democratic nominee for president,” Christie said.
Scott said last week that his one objective is to "be the president of the United States.
"I did not enter this race to come in second place. Second place is a first loser," Scott told Fox News's Neil Cavuto. "From my perspective, the only way to run for president is to do it 100% of the time."
A spokesman for Pence, who served as vice president under Trump until 2020, told the Washington Examiner that Pence believes that "running twice for vice president is enough for any American."
Trump and DeSantis led the 2024 Republican presidential candidate field in fundraising, with the former president taking in $35 million from April to June and the Florida governor raking in $20.1 million in the same period. President Joe Biden, the likely Democratic presidential candidate, has raised more than $72 million since he announced his reelection campaign in April.
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While only receiving a third of his donations from small groups, the president is still outpacing Republican candidates' small donor totals. Combined, GOP candidates have raised $7.5 million from small donors compared to Biden's $10.2 million.
The Washington Examiner reached out to Ramaswamy and former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson for comment.