2024 Republican Party presidential primaries

2024 Republican Party presidential primaries

February to June 2024
2,467 delegates (2,392 pledged and 75 unpledged) to the Republican National Convention 1,234 votes needed to win
Opinion polls
First place by first-instance vote
Previous Republican nominee Donald Trump

Presidential primaries and caucuses are being organized by the Republican Party to select the delegates to the 2024 Republican National Convention scheduled to be held between February and June 2024 to determine the party's nominee for president of the United States in the 2024 U.S. presidential election. The elections will take place in all 50 U.S. states, the District of Columbia, and five U.S. territories.

Former president Donald Trump initiated his run for president in November 2022, a week after the 2022 midterm elections and two years ahead of the 2024 election, unusually early especially after launching his 2016 and 2020 campaigns both on the third Tuesday of June in the year before. Former Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley became the first to follow him on February 14, followed by wealth management executive Vivek Ramaswamy one week later, former Arkansas governor Asa Hutchinson on April 6, radio host Larry Elder on April 20, and U.S. Senator Tim Scott on May 19. After several timetable shifts, Florida governor Ron DeSantis entered the race with a virtual message on May 24. Former Vice President Mike Pence entered the race on June 5, with former New Jersey governor Chris Christie joining on June 6 and North Dakota governor Doug Burgum joining on June 7.

Trump is considered the early frontrunner, and has maintained a consistent lead in primary polling since 2020. Some Republicans have expressed apprehension about nominating Trump, owing to his loss to Joe Biden in 2020, the multiple ongoing criminal investigations into him, and the results of the 2022 midterms, when several Trump-endorsed candidates lost key races. However, many other Republicans have stood by Trump and decried the investigations into him as politically motivated. Among the non-Trump candidates, DeSantis has consistently led in polling, though he has yet to approach the support enjoyed by Trump.

Trump is the first president to run after leaving office since Herbert Hoover in 1940; if he wins, he will be the first president to serve non-consecutive terms since Grover Cleveland, who won his second term in 1892. Meanwhile, Pence's candidacy makes him the first vice president to run against the president under whom they served since John Nance Garner in 1940. Burgum is the first person born in North Dakota to run for president, while Haley is the first female racial minority to seek the Republican nomination.

Candidates

Declared major candidates

The candidates in this section have declared their candidacies and meet one or more of the following criteria: campaign has received substantial major media coverage; current or previous holder of significant elected office; have been included in at least five national polls.

Declared major candidates in the 2024 Republican Party presidential primaries

Name		Born	Experience	Home state	Campaign Announcement date	Ref.
Doug Burgum		August 1, 1956 (age 68) Arthur, North Dakota	Governor of North Dakota (2016–present)	North Dakota	File:Doug Burgum for America logo.png Campaign June 7, 2023 FEC filing
Chris Christie		September 6, 1962 (age 62) Newark, New Jersey	Governor of New Jersey (2010–2018) U.S. Attorney for the District of New Jersey (2002–2008) Candidate for president in 2016	New Jersey	Campaign June 6, 2023 FEC filing
Ron DeSantis		September 14, 1978 (age 46) Jacksonville, Florida	Governor of Florida (2019–present) U.S. Representative from FL-06 (2013–2018)	Florida	Campaign May 24, 2023 FEC filing
Larry Elder		April 27, 1952 (age 72) Los Angeles, California	Host of The Larry Elder Show (1993–2022) Candidate for Governor of California in 2021	California	Campaign April 20, 2023 FEC filing
File:Nikki Haley 2020 Portrait Cropped.jpg Nikki Haley		January 20, 1972 (age 52) Bamberg, South Carolina	Ambassador to the United Nations (2017–2018) Governor of South Carolina (2011–2017) South Carolina State Representative (2005–2011)	South Carolina	Campaign February 14, 2023 FEC filing
File:Asa Hutchinson Judiciary Comittee Portrait Cropped.jpg Asa Hutchinson		December 3, 1950 (age 73) Bentonville, Arkansas	Governor of Arkansas (2015–2023) Under Secretary of Homeland Security (2003–2005) Administrator of Drug Enforcement (2001–2003)	Arkansas	Campaign April 6, 2023 FEC filing
Mike Pence		June 7, 1959 (age 65) Columbus, Indiana	Vice President of the United States (2017–2021) Governor of Indiana (2013–2017) U.S. Representative from Indiana (2001–2013)	Indiana	Campaign June 5, 2023 FEC filing
Vivek Ramaswamy		August 9, 1985 (age 39) Cincinnati, Ohio	Executive chairman of Strive Asset Management (2022–present)	Ohio	Campaign February 21, 2023 FEC filing
File:Tim Scott 3-3-2022 (1).jpg Tim Scott		September 19, 1965 (age 59) North Charleston, South Carolina	U.S. Senator from South Carolina (2013–present) U.S. Representative from SC-01 (2011–2013) South Carolina State Representative (2009–2011)	South Carolina	Campaign May 19, 2023 FEC filing
File:Donald Trump AFPI Portrait Cropped.jpg Donald Trump		June 14, 1946 (age 78) Queens, New York	President of the United States (2017–2021) Chairman of The Trump Organization (1971–2017)	Florida	Campaign November 15, 2022 FEC filing

Other declared candidates

The candidates in this section are otherwise notable, but have not met the criteria outlined above.

• John Anthony Castro, tax consultant and perennial candidate
• Perry Johnson, businessman who failed to qualify for the 2022 Michigan gubernatorial election
• Steve Laffey, mayor of Cranston, Rhode Island (2003–2007)
• Corey Stapleton, Montana Secretary of State (2017–2021), member of the Montana Senate from the 27th district (2001–2009)

Announcement pending

As of June 2023, the following individuals have reportedly planned an announcement declaring whether they will run for president.

• Francis X. Suarez, 43rd Mayor of Miami (2017–present), member of the Miami City Commission (2009–2017) (announcement expected on June 15, 2023)

• 
  Mayor of Miami
  Francis X. Suarez
  from Florida

Decision pending

As of June 2023, the following notable individuals are expected to make a decision regarding their official candidacy within a set timeline.

• Michael Rogers, United States Representative from MI-08 (2001–2015), member of the Michigan Senate from the 26th district (1995–2001) (decision expected in June 2023)

• 
  Former U.S. Representative
  Mike Rogers
  from Michigan

Publicly expressed interest

As of June 2023, the following notable individuals have expressed an interest in running for president within the previous six months.

• John Bolton, 27th United States National Security Advisor (2018–2019), 25th United States Ambassador to the United Nations (2005–2006), 3rd Under Secretary of State for Arms Control and International Security Affairs (2001–2005), 18th Assistant Secretary of State for International Organization Affairs (1989–1993), U.S. Assistant Attorney General (1985–1989)
• Will Hurd, United States Representative from TX-23 (2015–2021)
• Rick Perry, 14th United States Secretary of Energy (2017–2019), 47th Governor of Texas (2000–2015), 39th Lieutenant Governor of Texas (1999–2000), 9th Agriculture Commissioner of Texas (1991–1999), Member of the Texas House of Representatives (1985–1991), candidate for president in 2016 and 2012

• 
  Former National Security Advisor
  John Bolton
  from Maryland
• 
  Former U.S. Representative
  Will Hurd
  from Texas
• 
  Former Secretary of Energy
  Rick Perry
  from Texas

Potential candidates

As of June 2023, there has been speculation about the potential candidacy of the following notable individuals within the previous six months.

• Greg Abbott, 48th Governor of Texas (2015–present), 50th Texas Attorney General (2002–2015), Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of Texas (1996–2001)
• Kristi Noem, 33rd Governor of South Dakota (2019–present), United States Representative from SD-AL (2011–2019), member of the South Dakota House of Representatives from the 6th district (2007–2011)
• Glenn Youngkin, 74th Governor of Virginia (2022–present) (will consider after the 2023 Virginia elections)

• 
  Governor
  Greg Abbott
  of Texas
• 
  Governor
  Kristi Noem
  of South Dakota
• Governor Glenn Youngkin of Virginia
  Governor
  Glenn Youngkin
  of Virginia

Declined to be candidates

The following notable individuals have been the subject of speculation about their possible candidacy, but have publicly denied interest in running.

• Marsha Blackburn, U.S. Senator from Tennessee (2019–present), United States Representative from TN-07 (2003–2019), member of the Tennessee Senate from the 23rd district (1999–2003) (endorsed Trump)
• Tucker Carlson, host of Tucker Carlson Tonight (2016–2023) and co-founder of The Daily Caller
• Liz Cheney, United States Representative from WY-AL (2017–2023), Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs (2002–2004, 2005–2009) (considering independent run)
• Tom Cotton, U.S. Senator from Arkansas (2015–present), United States Representative from AR-04 (2013–2015)
• Dan Crenshaw, United States Representative from TX-02 (2019–present)
• Ted Cruz, U.S. Senator from Texas (2013–present), 3rd Texas Solicitor General (2003–2008), candidate for president in 2016 (running for re-election)
• Joni Ernst, U.S. Senator from Iowa (2015–present), member of the Iowa Senate from the 12th district (2011–2014), Montgomery County Auditor (2005–2011)
• Josh Hawley, U.S. Senator from Missouri (2019–present), 42nd Missouri Attorney General (2017–2019) (running for re-election)
• Larry Hogan, 62nd Governor of Maryland (2015–2023), Maryland Secretary of Appointments (2003–2007)
• Brian Kemp, 83rd Governor of Georgia (2019–present), 27th Georgia Secretary of State (2010–2018), member of the Georgia Senate from the 46th district (2003–2007)
• Adam Kinzinger, United States Representative from IL-16 (2011–2023)
• Dan Patrick, 42nd Lieutenant Governor of Texas (2015–present), member of the Texas Senate from the 7th district (2007–2015) (endorsed Trump)
• Rand Paul, U.S. Senator from Kentucky (2011–present), candidate for president in 2016
• Mike Pompeo, 70th United States Secretary of State (2018–2021), 6th Director of the Central Intelligence Agency (2017–2018), United States Representative from KS-04 (2011–2017)
• Mitt Romney, U.S. Senator from Utah (2019–present), 70th Governor of Massachusetts (2003–2007), nominee for president in 2012 and candidate in 2008
• Marco Rubio, U.S. Senator from Florida (2011–present), 94th Speaker of the Florida House of Representatives (2006–2008) from the 111th district (2000–2008), member of the West Miami City Commission (1998–2000), candidate for president in 2016
• Paul Ryan, 54th Speaker of the United States House of Representatives (2015–2019) from WI-01 (1999–2019) and nominee for vice president in 2012
• Rick Scott, U.S. Senator from Florida (2019–present), 45th Governor of Florida (2011–2019) (running for re-election)
• Chris Sununu, 82nd Governor of New Hampshire (2017–present), member of the New Hampshire Executive Council (2011–2017)
• Donald Trump Jr., businessman, executive vice president of The Trump Organization, son of former president Donald Trump
• Ivanka Trump, Senior Advisor to the President of the United States (2017–2021), daughter of former president Donald Trump
• Scott Walker, 45th Governor of Wisconsin (2011–2019), 5th Milwaukee County Executive (2002–2010), member of the Wisconsin State Assembly from the 14th district (1993–2002), candidate for president in 2016

Vice presidential speculation

Main article: 2024 Republican Party vice presidential candidate selection

Multiple reporters, political analysts and commentators have noted that Trump selecting his former Vice President Mike Pence to be his running mate once again would be highly unlikely following rifts between the two over the future of the Republican Party and Pence's attempts to distance himself from the former president. On March 15, 2022, Trump announced that if he runs for re-election and wins the Republican presidential nomination, Pence will not be his running mate. In June 2022, the House Select Committee on the January 6 Attack found that Trump said Pence "deserved" calls to be hanged on the day of the attack. Pence has similarly stated that he has no interest in accepting the vice presidential nomination again.

Several individuals have received speculation about possible selection as vice presidential nominee in 2024 including Senator Tim Scott of South Carolina, Governor Kristi Noem of South Dakota, Governor Glenn Youngkin of Virginia, Senator Ted Cruz of Texas, Governor Ron DeSantis of Florida, Governor Kim Reynolds of Iowa, Senator Joni Ernst of Iowa, Senator Rick Scott of Florida, and Lieutenant Governor Jeanette Nuñez of Florida. There has been speculation that former U.S. Representative Lee Zeldin of New York could become DeSantis' running mate after his strong performance in the 2022 New York gubernatorial election. and both holding several rallies before and after the election together. Some have speculated that former United Nations Ambassador and former South Carolina governor Nikki Haley could be Trump's running mate. Reportedly, Trump has "repeatedly" discussed the possibility of choosing United States Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene as his running mate. Greene has claimed that she is in talks with Trump to become his running mate.

On March 6, 2023, multiple sources close to Donald Trump, the current Republican front-runner, as reported by Axios, ran the list down to four major contenders. These were Haley; Sarah Huckabee Sanders, former White House press secretary for Trump and current governor of Arkansas, who has received media attention for her executive orders; Kristi Noem, governor of South Dakota; and Kari Lake, candidate for Arizona governor in 2022 who lost narrowly to Katie Hobbs. According to Axios, Trump's major factor in the race is loyalty, something he sees strongly in Lake given her reiterations of the claims of a stolen 2020 election.

Timeline

A week after the 2022 midterm elections, at Mar-a-Lago, former president Donald Trump announced that he would run again in 2024. He is seeking to become the second president after Grover Cleveland to serve two non-consecutive terms.

On February 14, 2023, former South Carolina governor Nikki Haley, who served as U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations during the Trump administration, announced her candidacy for president, making her the second major candidate in the race. On February 21, 2023, executive chairman of Strive Asset Management and former CEO of Roivant Sciences, Vivek Ramaswamy, an activist against environmental, social and corporate governance initiatives, announced his candidacy for the presidency on Tucker Carlson Tonight.

On April 2, 2023, former governor of Arkansas Asa Hutchinson, who also served as chairman of the National Governors Association and was George W. Bush's Administrator of Drug Enforcement, announced his candidacy during an interview with ABC News' Jonathan Karl. On April 20, 2023, Larry Elder, former radio personality and candidate in the 2021 California gubernatorial recall election, announced his campaign on Tucker Carlson Tonight.

On May 19, 2023, after forming an exploratory committee on April 12, Tim Scott, a senator and former representative from South Carolina, submitted FEC paperwork to run, and made a formal declaration on May 22. On May 24, 2023, governor of Florida and former representative Ron DeSantis submitted his FEC paperwork to run, and announced that he was running for president via a Twitter Spaces interview with Elon Musk.

On June 5, 2023, former Vice President Mike Pence filed to run for president. He formally announced his bid two days later with a campaign video, and is expected to hold a rally, and night town hall with CNN in Des Moines, Iowa, that same day, making him the final candidate polling over 2% to enter the race. On June 6, 2023, former Governor of New Jersey Chris Christie, who also ran in 2016, formally announced a presidential bid in New Hampshire. On June 5, Governor of North Dakota Doug Burgum released a campaign video and the next day published an announcement op-ed, making him the first born in his state to run for president. On June 7, he delivered a formal speech in Fargo.

As of May 2023, the exact dates of many primaries are still uncertain; however, they will be finalized in the summer as GOP rules mandate that changes to dates and delegate allocation methods must occur by October 1. They also specify that all primaries occur between March and June 11, 2024. Iowa, New Hampshire, Nevada, and South Carolina will be the first, in February and that order currently, as they are exempted and allowed to occur early due to a tradition of allowing them to influence the rest. However, the first two appear to be scheduled in late January in some sources. The bulk will be concentrated in March, as usual in presidential primaries. The process will conclude with the formal adoption of the nominee by a majority of delegates at the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee, which will be held from July 15–18.

Overview

	Active campaign		Exploratory committee		Withdrawn candidate
	Primaries		Midterm elections		Republican National Convention

Background

Despite losing his re-election bid in 2020, Trump remains the main front-runner of the GOP and endorsed challengers to several House members who had voted to impeach him, as well as pushing several candidates through for open races. These candidates had a lackluster performance resulting in the Republicans taking control of the house with only a small majority and causing a dip in Trump's popularity within the party. At the same time Ron DeSantis, the Governor of Florida, won nearly 60% of the vote in a landslide victory in his gubernatorial re-election. Media coverage consistently portrayed DeSantis as Trump's main rival, despite DeSantis not having announced a presidential run. The GOP primary in early 2023 was expected to have a small field of candidates, as its growth had not kicked off by the same time as usual in open contest primaries. However, this expectation gave away in the spring when the field ballooned with the entrances of several candidates. This presented a threat to the chances of DeSantis, the only considerable challenger to Trump, because of vote-splitting of republicans looking past Trump. DeSantis rose against Trump in GOP aggregate polls throughout 2022, eventually reaching 11 points behind him. However, since the turn of the year, Trump has resurged and DeSantis has fallen behind. This has been fueled by sentiments against an indictment of Trump on March 30. Polling from the week before DeSantis is set to join the race shows him at his lowest point yet, with Trump at 61% and him at 17%. However, he remains the top contender for being chosen vice president. National polling against incumbent president Biden shows nearly the exact result regardless of which is the GOP nominee, but because of DeSantis' prominence being more recent, more GOP voters are undecided on him than Trump.

In March 2023, Trump attacked DeSantis with nicknames like "Meatball Ron" and "Ron DeSanctimonious". Trump then rose in the polls, even as reports anticipated that he would be indicted in a hush money case regarding his 2016 campaign. Trump was indicted on March 30 and arrested on April 4. On April 25, Trump suggested he would skip Republican debates, saying he did not want to be "libeled and abused" in them and boasting that he already had a "seemingly insurmountable" lead. On May 10, Trump conducted a live town hall with CNN, his first time with a major network other than Fox News since storming off an interview with 60 Minutes in October 2020.

Trump is considered the early frontrunner. However, there are multiple factors working against Trump: the hearings held by the United States House Select Committee on the January 6 Attack have damaged public opinion towards him, his indictment in New York State over his hush money payments to adult film actress Stormy Daniels, his indictment in federal court over mishandling of classified documents, and the judgment of liability against him for sexual abuse and defamation against journalist E. Jean Carroll. Trump's poll numbers surged immediately after the New York State indictment was announced. A Yahoo News poll shows that in a Republican primary, 57% of respondents would vote for Trump. In a NPR/PBS NewsHour/Marist College poll, 80% of Republicans surveyed said Trump was being unfairly targeted. Trump announced in March 2022 that if he runs for re-election and wins the Republican presidential nomination, his former vice president Mike Pence will not be his running mate. If Donald Trump and Joe Biden both win their respective parties' nomination, it will be the first presidential rematch since 1956 after Dwight D. Eisenhower successfully ran for reelection against Adlai Stevenson II.

Debates

Main article: 2024 Republican Party presidential debates

The Republican National Committee (RNC) has announced that the first primary debate will be held on August 23, 2023, in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and hosted by Fox News. Candidates will be required to meet a polling threshold of 1% and attract 40,000 unique donors. The second Republican primary debate will take place at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in Simi Valley as happened in 2016. On April 25, 2023, Trump raised uncertainty about his participation in the debates on Truth Social due to his large polling lead at the time.

Endorsements

Main article: Endorsements in the 2024 Republican Party presidential primaries

Opinion polling

Main article: Opinion polling for the 2024 Republican Party presidential primaries

Campaign finance

This is an overview of the money used by each campaign as it is reported to the Federal Election Commission (FEC). Totals raised include individual contributions, loans from the candidate, and transfers from other campaign committees. Individual contributions are itemized (catalogued) by the FEC when the total value of contributions by an individual comes to more than $200. The last column, Cash On Hand (COH), shows the remaining cash each campaign had available for its future spending as of March 31, 2023.

Overview of campaign financing for candidates in the 2024 Republican Party presidential primaries

through March 31, 2023

Candidate	Total raised	Individual contributions			Debt	Spent	COH
		Total	Unitemized	Pct
DeSantis	not a candidate as of March 31, 2023
Elder	not a candidate as of March 31, 2023
Haley	$5,125,431	$3,283,822	$798,184	24.3%	$0	$1,055,881	$4,069,549
Hutchinson	not a candidate as of March 31, 2023
Ramaswamy	$11,406,212	$851,637	$415,580	48.8%	$10,250,000	$2,038,924	$9,367,288
Scott	not a candidate as of March 31, 2023
Trump	$18,272,903	$16,361	$4,911	30.0%	$255,109	$4,340,955	$13,931,948

See also

• 2024 United States presidential election
• 2024 Republican National Convention
• 2024 Democratic Party presidential primaries
• 2024 Democratic National Convention

External links

• Presidential Candidate Trump Announces South Carolina Campaign Leadership Team on C-SPAN