Republican presidential hopeful Donald Trump is expected to name his running mate within the next week. With the vice presidential candidate set to be formally nominated at next week's Republican National Convention (RNC) in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, Trump's pick could come in the days ahead of the convention or during the event itself. "I haven't made a final decision, but I have some ideas as to where we're going," Ednews informs that Trump said in a recent interview with Fox News.
So, who could we expect to see on the ballot alongside Trump?
Senator from Ohio JD Vance is being touted as the top favorite for the nomination, especially after a report by The Guardian claimed that Trump's son Donald Jr. will make the running mate announcement during the RNC. Namely, Vance, who was elected to the Senate last year, is reported to have close ties to Trump Jr. and is scheduled to speak right after him at the convention. Still, some sources have stressed that the speaking schedule was made in advance and doesn't have to mean anything. Vance himself criticized Trump in 2016, calling him "cultural heroin" and "an opioid of the masses," but has been supporting him since 2020 and has been endorsed by the former president when running for a Senate seat. He has said that he would consider running with Trump if asked and added: "I wanna help him however I can."
Another top contender for the role is businessman and North Dakota Governor Doug Burgum, who suspended his own presidential campaign in December after failing to qualify for debates. Despite his earlier claims he would never do business with Trump, he endorsed the former president in January and became his campaign's advisor on energy.
South Carolina Senator Tim Scott is also seen as a likely option. He also endorsed Trump after dropping out of the presidential race and has said he became close with Trump after being asked to help him understand those he offended by responding to the clashes between white supremacists and counterprotesters in Charlottesville by saying there were "very fine people on both sides."
Florida Senator Marco Rubio is a name that is often mentioned as Trump's possible choice, despite the fact the two have strongly criticized each other in the past. However, Rubio, who sought the GOP presidential nomination in 2016, has already endorsed Trump in this election cycle and Trump has called him "one of the people that we're looking at" for the vice presidential role. The problem with Rubio is that both he and Trump are Florida residents and the US Constitution notes that candidates running on the same ticket who are inhabitants of the same state cannot win electoral votes in the said state. Trump has not ruled out Rubio as a result, but has stressed it "does make it more complicated." The solution could either be that one of the men changes his residency or that they sacrifice Florida and its 30 electors.
Former South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley, who was Trump's main challenger in the primaries, has also been floated as a potential vice presidential choice, despite Trump noting in May that she is "not under consideration for the VP slot." Trump has called Haley "bird brain" during the primaries, but after she dropped out, the bad blood between the two seemingly disappeared. Trump said he is "sure" Haley, who was US ambassador to the United Nations during his first term, will be on his team "in some form," while Haley herself stressed she would definitely vote for Trump because US President Joe Biden "has been a catastrophe." Last week, Haley even released all of the 97 delegates she won during the primaries and called on them to vote for Trump at the convention.
Other names who could be in the mix include Representatives Elise Stefanik and Byron Donalds, as well as Florida Governor Ron DeSantis and ex-presidential hopeful Vivek Ramaswamy.
