Terry JonesA presidential candidate’s running mate is usually chosen to “balance” the ticket to shore up electoral weaknesses. But in former President Donald Trump’s case, his vice presidential pick is likely to receive added scrutiny due to his multitude of legal problems. That’s why this month I&I/TIPP asked U.S. voters: Who should Trump’s vice presidential running mate be?
To find out who’s potentially strongest as a vice presidential candidate, I&I/TIPP’s national online poll, taken by 587 registered Republican primary voters from Jan. 31-Feb. 2, asked two questions: “If Trump wins the Republican nomination, who would be your top choice for his Vice President?” and, “If Trump wins the Republican nomination, who would be your second choice for his Vice President?”
The names came from a long list of recent media and campaign mentions of potential VP candidates (for the full list, see chart with this story). It also includes those who challenged Trump in the primaries, but subsequently dropped out, and one candidate still in the race.
Out of 14 possible names for the question about the “top choice” for vice president, only three reach double-digits: Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (16%), entrepreneur, author and former presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy (14%), and former United Nations Ambassador and South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley (11%).
All the rest get single-digit support, from South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott (8%) to Ohio Sen. J.D. Vance (1%). But one remaining name still looms large: “Not sure,” which takes 20% of the vote, more than any individual candidate received. So people are still making up their minds.
The followup question, about the “second choice” for veep, shakes things up a bit, with DeSantis at 19%, Haley and Scott both at 12%, and former Housing Secretary and renowned medical doctor Ben Carson in fourth at 10%. All the rest, from Ramaswamy (7%) down to Florida Rep. Byron Daniels (2%) remain in single digits.
So which vice presidential candidate would have the most electoral clout? To determine this, I&I/TIPP then added up the individual scores for each question to see who was named by the most potential voters.
It wasn’t very close. DeSantis received 34% of the total votes cast on both questions, compared to 24% for Haley, 21% for Ramaswamy, 19% for Scott, 17% for Carson, 12% for TV personality and commentator Tucker Carlson and 10% for South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem.
All the rest received 7% or less of the total, from Arkansas Governor and political commentator Sarah Huckabee Sanders and former National Security Adviser Gen. Mike Flynn down to Daniels at 3%.
Why focus on this so early in the game, when a vice presidential selection is usually not made until the summer before an election?
The answer, of course, it that Trump is hardly a typical candidate. To begin with, fair or not, he’s a highly divisive figure in American politics, within both parties.
But more importantly, with four major indictments against him in the last two years whose outcomes are still unclear, it’s not at all certain that even with his huge lead in the polls Trump can emerge from the process unscathed.
No former president in U.S. history has faced such a barrage of litigation, in Trump’s case suspiciously filed as he geared up to run for a second term.
As one example: The fraud trial in which Trump was hammered just this month with $355 million in penalties, which could grow to well over $400 million once interest is added, and banned from doing business in New York for three years.
“The size of the damages is grotesque and should shock the conscience of any judge on appeal,” George Washington University law professor Jonathan Turley told The Hill. “Even if the Democrat-appointed judges on the New York Court of Appeals were to ignore the obvious inequity and unfairness, the United States Supreme Court could intervene.”
“This is unprecedented. New York has never brought a case like this ever in the history of New York that anyone can find, yet they go after Donald Trump when crime in New York is at an all-time high,” according to Republican former Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi, speaking on “Kudlow.”
That’s only the latest of Trump’s legal woes.
There also was the $83 million judgment levied against him for defamation against journalist E. Jean Carroll, who claimed Trump raped her in a Bergdorf Goodman department store dressing room in either 1994, 1995 or 1996 (under oath, she couldn’t remember when).
In a separate case in Georgia, Trump was hit with 13 charges for allegedly trying to overturn the results of that state’s 2020 election. That case has yet to be resolved. Despite indications of prosecutorial misconduct and possible bias by lead prosecutor Fani T. Willis, Trump is still not in the clear.
Even libertarian magazine Reason, neither a friend nor supporter of Trump, was moved to call the former president a “victim of political witch hunts by Democrats suffering from Trump derangement syndrome.”
What does this have to do with who Trump selects as veep? Plenty. If, for one reason or another, Trump is unable to finish his campaign for president, it’s very likely that whomever he selects as his running mate will turn into the GOP’s candidate.
So who will he pick? Back in January, Trump himself told Fox News’ Bret Baier that “People won’t be that surprised” by his selection. But this month, he mentioned both Noem and Scott as possibilities.
And Fox Business, with close ties to Trump’s camp, has said that Vance, Huckabee Sanders and New York Rep. Elise Stefanik are all on Trump’s “short list” of vice presidential possibles. And Trump himself has talked of Ramaswamy as someone who play a significant, if unspecified, role in his administration.
But that raises questions, namely: Will this be an election in which the presidential candidate’s No. 2 becomes a big deal, as a potential replacement for the president? Or will it, as with most presidential elections, be a non-issue?
Meanwhile, not mentioned at all above by those close to Trump or even by Trump himself are the two vice presidential candidates who won the broadest support among rank-and-file GOP voters: DeSantis and Haley. Why not?
Of course, Trump’s supreme self-confidence and the MAGA brand may be big enough to carry him and whomever his vice presidential pick is across the finish line, especially given President Joe Biden’s troubles in recent polls. If so, Trump may see DeSantis or Haley — both strong-willed politicians with national followings of their own — as distractions from his vision for America.
I&I/TIPP publishes timely, unique, and informative data each month on topics of public interest. TIPP’s reputation for polling excellence comes from being the most accurate pollster for the past five presidential elections.
Terry Jones is an editor of Issues & Insights. His four decades of journalism experience include serving as national issues editor, economics editor, and editorial page editor for Investor’s Business Daily.
I & I Editorial Board
The one absolute no for me is Nikki Haley. Darling Nikki is a warmongering Bush Republican.
I definitely agree, no to Haley
OH BS.
No America first patriot picked Nikki Haley nor Ronald desantis….
neither Nikki nor Vivek Ramaswamy are even eligible for the top offices anyways.
The Constitution Does Not Allow Children Born Of Non-Citizens To Become President Of The United States (or VP).
A Natural born citizen does NOT owe their citizenship to congressional legislation like the 14th amendment, both Vivek and Namrata Haley are naturalized citizens.
Law of Nations, by Vattel, written in 1758 is the premiere book of law our founders used when forming our nation, in it it says:
“§ 212 – Citizens and Natives. The citizens are the members of the civil society; bound to this society by certain duties, and subject to its authority, they equally participate in its advantages. The natives, or natural-born citizens, are those born in the country, of parents who are citizens. As the society cannot exist and perpetuate itself otherwise than by the children of the citizens, those children naturally follow the condition of their fathers, and succeed to all their rights.”
***
As it is, Most MAGA patriots think someone like Kari Lake would be the STRONGEST candidate to team with President Trump…
it would definitely be different for him to be teamed up with a like minded America loving patriot instead of a deep state globalist sell-out like judas pence that another deep state puppet – Chris Christie, deceived him with.
They were both born in the US; that makes them citizens in their own right regardless of your flawed reasoning and desires.
Nikki Haley? Who came up with this bogus poll? Both DeSantis and Haley burned that bridge. Either Vivek or Carlson will be the pick.
Looking at the list and top names while knowing current recent history, I have to say that the poll is utter globalist bullshizz.
Pres. Trump better avoid a politician. Deep State needs another devious Pence so they are trying to push one on him.
So when they surveyed “registered Republican” voters what they really meant is they surveyed East coast war mongering Rinos.
Conservatives would rather have a pile of sand than Nikki Haley, and that’s not even debateable.
The author leaves out the single most important consideration for choosing a VP – the Constitution’s requirement that electors cannot vote for both Pres and VP from their state. That clause completely rules out DeSantis as a viable choice.
Dr. Carol Swain is a great American with endless capabilities.
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again…President Trump must choose a VP even more hated by the Deep State than they hate him. If he doesn’t and chooses a wimpy VP like DeSanctimonious or Bird Brain, then he risks getting Kennedy’d. I suggest either Kari Lake or Matt Gaetz…maybe Sarah Huckabee.
Tulsi
Yep, Tulsi Gabbard that keeps popping up in my mind. This next term will be about re-unitng our country, and healing the wounds the cabal have opened up to pave way for our destruction.
Tulsi would go a long way towards bridging the chasm between us. Keep in mind, 5-7% will unfortunately be lost forever, and never be able distinguish the lies they embrace from reality. The brainwashing is permanently seared into their minds, and irreversable.
Don’t be ridiculous.
Trump’s going to prison by summer. It doesn’t matter who he picks. Try living in the real world for a change.
You mean, like Russia Russia Russia, and “Trusting the science” when it comes to Chest-feeding, masks, and social distancing?
There is absolutely no chance Nikki gets picked. DeSantis stabbed him the back. I think Ben Carson is high on the list
I think the list is too long and too short. Mike POMPEO should be featured.
This smells like made up bs that either of those two are first and second choices.
Just what we need more neocons retreads in the list? I’ll pass.
Graduated top of his class at West Point, and was the most logical one in my mind to pick right up where Trump leaves off, but I don’t see how that would fly now in the face of public opinion.
Like Trump, Mike “Kansas” Pompeo is an all out brawler, and one of the few I see as even able, to withstand the Full-Court Press that is unleashed upon those that dare to stand against the Beast, and it’s system.
Not everything is as it appears, and there are many on both sides playing a role. So, alot of people are going to be shocked to learn who’s who, and what’s been what when that time does finally come.
Sarah Huckabee Sanders is the current Arkansas governor, not the former governor. Her father, Mike Huckabee, is a former governor.
Why isn’t independent candidate Tulsi Gabbard in the list.? She was kicked out of the Democratic Party for humiliating Hillary and Kamala based on their records. Tulsi is a Colonel in the National Guard who took two weeks out of her last campaign to serve. She spoke to Assad like Trump spoke to Kim to maintain peace. Democrats hated her for that. She is anti woke, anti illegal immigration, believes in borders, and has more personal integrity than anyone else running for anything. She would attract independent and those increasingly rare conservative Democratic voters. Trump has already talked to her about some sort of Defense department position in his administration. Tulsi is sharp and she doesn’t back down. Look up some of her YouTube videos.
Sorry honey…the reason for these numbers is that you failed to offer a “none if the above” option. But if it is Nikki Haley, I won’t be voting for Trump.
J. D. Vance would be my choice!
Why is Condoleezza Rice not top of this list for VP?
Far more experienced, competent and wise than anyone on the list.
If she had to move up to be President, she would be better for the USA than the rest, plus she is respected around the world.
Condoleezza is my choice for VP, or better yet, for President!
WTF? Haley is a neocon (hell no) and Desantis hired Jeb’s advisors so also no.
Vivek would be fine but unlikely be chosen.