With Pence set to announce candidacy, Republican primary field expands: Advantage Trump?

Experts say that a crowded field might boost the chances of former President Donald Trump, currently, the clear frontrunner, with a latest Fox News poll giving him a 33 per cent lead over Florida Governor Ronald DeSantis.

“A large field heading into the Iowa caucuses and New Hampshire primary would be a boon for Trump, whose deeply loyal base of supporters gives him a solid floor of the vote share that could help him win with a plurality of votes”, political reporter Brett Samuels wrote in The Hill.

We list the Republicans in running to be the party’s presidential candidate.

1. 01

   Donald J Trump

   Former President Donald Trump is the firm frontrunner, as per recent polls. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon, File)

   The controversial former president, who has multiple ongoing legal cases against him, announced his bid in November last year. He is a solid frontrunner, enjoying unparalleled support from the Republican base. The real-estate developer, business tycoon, and reality-TV star  entered politics ahead of the 2016 elections as a rank outsider but gained immense popularity during presidential campaign due to his confrontational style and anti-establishment messaging. After serving one term as president, he lost the 2020 elections to current President Joe Biden. He is set to return to the fray with his signature “Make America Great Again” message.

2. 02

   Ron DeSantis

   Republican presidential candidate Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis speaks during a campaign event, Wednesday, May 31, 2023, in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. (AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall)

   The Florida Governor, at 44-years old, is a latecomer to politics but has become well-known in the papers for his vitriolic rhetoric and ultra conservative policies. He has supported legislation to defund diversity and inclusion programmes, including banning teachers from teaching about gender identity as well as black history to students. DeSantis has also banned the provision of gender-affirming care for minors. Furthermore, he has pushed back against illegal immigration, banned most abortions, loosened gun control, and expanded on the death penalty. As per current polling, he significantly trails Donald Trump, but is the next most popular candidate in the mix.

3. 03

   Nikki Haley

   Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley speaks during a town hall campaign event, Wednesday, May 17, 2023, in Ankeny, Iowa. (AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall, File)

   Nikki Haley announced her presidential campaign in February and explicitly committed to taking on Donald Trump. Born to Punjabi Sikh parents, she is the first Indian American to serve as a member of the presidential cabinet, serving under Donald Trump before the two fell out. In 2009, she became the first female governor of South Carolina and the youngest in the country. Her campaign has thus far stressed on the need for younger and newer leaders, with one of her campaign promises being to ensure mandatory mental competency tests for politicians over the age of 75.

4. 04

   Vivek Ramaswamy

   Vivek Ramaswamy speaks at the Conservative Political Action Conference, CPAC 2023, Friday, March 3, 2023, at National Harbor in Oxon Hill, Md. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon, File)

   At age 37, Ramaswamy launched his bid for the presidency in late February. The Kerala-origin, Indian American biotech entrepreneur, who has no previous political experience, has stated that his presidency campaign has been about reviving a sense of American national identity. According to him, it is this lack of identity that has led to much of the country’s current economic and foreign policy struggles. His public personality revolves around being “anti-woke”, something he repeatedly brings up during speeches and interviews.

5. 05

   Tim Scott

   Republican presidential candidate South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott speaks during a campaign event with the New Hampshire Federation of Republican Women, May 25, 2023, in Manchester, N.H. When Scott launched his campaign for the White House last week, the notoriously prickly former President Donald Trump welcomed his new competitor with open arms. “Good luck to Senator Tim Scott in entering the Republican Presidential Primary Race,” Trump said. (AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty, File)

   Senator Tim Scott has been the only black man to serve in both chambers of Congress, and his bid for the presidency promises to revive the “culture of greatness in America.” The grandson of a cotton field worker and the son of a single mother and who grew up in poverty, he is a staunch conservative who has been vocal about racism, especially in more recent years. In 2018, he cosponsored a bill that would make lynching a federal crime.

6. 06

   Asa Hutchinson

   Former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson formally announces his Republican campaign for president, April 26, 2023, in Bentonville, Ark. (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki, File)

   The former Arkansas governor announced his presidential campaign in an interview in April. He served two terms in the US House of Representatives. Notably, he was a prosecutor in Bill Clinton’s impeachment trial, as well as the Administrator the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) during the George W. Bush presidency. Again, he is a staunch conservative, and has been vocal about limiting abortion rights for women.

7. 07

   Larry Elder

   Republican presidential candidate radio show host Larry Elder speaks during the Iowa Faith and Freedom Coalition Spring Kick-Off Saturday, April 22, 2023, in Clive, Iowa. (AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall, File)

   Elder is a prominent conservative commentator and the host of The Larry Elder Show. He announced his candidacy for for the Republican nomination in the 2024 presidential election. earlier this year, in April. He is extremely conservative on both economic and social issues, wanting to abolish over 80 per cent of the US's welfare programmes and deeming abortion, under any circumstance, as murder. Being a black man himself, his position on race has been controversial. He has called systemic racism a “lie” and blamed the Black Lives Matter movement for rising crime.

8. 08

   Chris Christie

   New Jersey Governor Chris Christie reacts to a question during a news conference in Trenton, New Jersey, U.S. on March 28, 2014. (Photo: REUTERS/Eduardo Munoz/File)

   The former New Jersey governor is expected to announce his presidential campaign on June 6. His previous presidential campaign in 2016 failed after which he allied himself with Trump. However,  since the US Capitol attacks, he has been a vocal critic of the former president. Christie is expected to poise himself as an alternative to Trump, depicting himself as a traditional conservative.

9. 09

   Mike Pence

   Former Vice President Mike Pence talks with local residents during a meet and greet on May 23, 2023, in Des Moines, Iowa. Pence will officially launch his widely expected campaign for the Republican nomination for president in Iowa on June 7. (AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall)

   The former US vice president will be launching his campaign around June 7. Pence is a born-again evangelical Christian and described himself as a “principled conservative” and has aligned himself with the Tea Party movement. He was a loyal deputy to the Trump, until 2020, when he refused to succumb to pressure from the former president to block Congress’s certification of the results of the 2020 election, which Trump. Since then, he has maintained distance from Trump, not attacking him but also not being overtly amicable.

Some other potential Republican presidential candidates who may announce their bids, as per NPR, include:

• Chris Sununu
• Glenn Youngkin
• Kristi Noem
• Liz Cheney
• John Bolton
• Doug Burgum

(Tanvi Jha is an intern with The Indian Express)