Talks of whom former President Donald Trump would enlist as his running mate are buzzing ahead of the first primary debate, with multiple Republicans expressing interest in the coveted position.
If the current top GOP candidate reoccupies the White House, his vice president could vault to the front of the pack for the 2028 contest. Republicans are shifting focus toward the general election, and Trump has been rumored to be considering emulating his most recent Democratic rival and picking a woman to join him at the top of the ticket.
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Here are five possible Republicans on Trump’s short list for vice president.
Kristi Noem
Gov. Kristi Noem (R-SD) praised the possibility of serving as Trump’s 2024 running mate, telling Fox News on Thursday that “everybody should consider it.”
“If President Trump is going to be back in the White House, I’d do all I can to help him be successful,” Noem said.
Noem, whose name was once circulating as a presidential candidate, appears eager to take on a supporting role for Trump if it means increasing his chances of taking back the Oval Office.
She’s been a strong defender and ally of the former president, often mirroring her state policies to match Trump’s agenda. Noem claimed South Dakota “never shut down” in the early stages of the pandemic, highlighting resistance to statewide stay-at-home orders, which prompted praise from Trump. Noem criticized the House Jan. 6 committee for being unbalanced while moving blame away from the former president.
Nancy Mace
Rep. Nancy Mace (R-SC), who was critical of Trump’s legacy once after the Capitol riot, has made headlines supporting the former president while he battles multiple indictments.
Mace, who worked on his campaign in 2016, said “most” of Trump’s criminal charges are politically motivated, laying into the prosecutors going after the former president on Fox News following a fourth indictment on Monday night. A Fulton County grand jury charged Trump and 18 others with attempting to overturn the 2020 election in Georgia.
The second-term Republican representative has clung to Trump’s side since the indictment, changing her rhetoric after voting in support of President Joe Biden’s victory, refusing to take on Trump’s stance that the 2020 election was rigged.
Mace could be seen as a moderating option for the current GOP front-runner. Mace could help attract pro-abortion rights voters, as she has often been at odds with her party over its abortion stance, supporting access to birth control and wanting to find common ground with Democrats. Mace has also pressed the Republican presidential candidate to pick a woman as vice president.
“I do strongly believe, and I’ve said this from the beginning, that we need to have a woman on the ticket,” Mace said on Fox News in June. “We need to have a woman that can reach out to independent voters and suburban women.”
Elise Stefanik
Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-NY) has taken on the role of Trump’s attack dog amid multiple indictments this year, claiming the legal cases will only strengthen him.
Earlier this year, Stefanik said she hadn’t discussed the vice presidency with Trump but noted she’d be honored to serve in his administration.
“We have a lot of work to do over the next two years, and I am gonna work no matter what to make sure that we have a Republican president, House, and Senate in 2024,” Stefanik said in March, per WWNY. “So that’s what I focused on, and it’s a big job.”
Marjorie Taylor Greene
Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) said this week it would be “an honor” to be Trump’s vice president and that she would consider the offer “very, very heavily.”
“Am I going to be a part of President Trump’s Cabinet if he wins? Is it possible that I’ll be VP?” Greene told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution on Wednesday.
Greene has fiercely defended Trump, supporting the former president before she was elected to the House in 2020. The outspoken Georgia Republican has yet to rule out if she’ll run for Senate in 2026.
Greene often attacks those who don’t cast their support for the president amid his indictments, most recently saying she was disappointed in Gov. Brian Kemp’s (R-GA) statement claiming there was no voter fraud found in the 2020 election in the state.
Vivek Ramaswamy
Vivek Ramaswamy, a rising name among 2024 GOP candidates, has been openly supportive of Trump, with the former president mutually praising the political newcomer.
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“Donald Trump is arriving, and he and I share something in common. Neither of us do pretty well in a No. 2 position,” Ramaswamy said at the Iowa State Fair when asked if he would accept the role as vice president if he did not get the GOP nomination himself. “So I expect that he will be my adviser,” adding he expects Trump “would accept that job.”
For months, Ramaswamy has been rising in national primary polls, with other candidates, such as Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL), appearing threatened by his numbers. His popularity could appeal to Trump’s campaign as Ramaswamy has offered some of the strongest support for the former president in the 2024 field.