So far, the United States of 2024 presidential race was short of surprises.
As an incumbent, President Joe Biden was a contender for the Democratic nomination after announcing he would run for office alongside Vice President Kamala Harris.
And among Republicans, former President Donald Trump has long been the favorite — and he quickly and resoundingly beat his opponents in the party primaries.
One question that lingers, however, is who will be Trump’s successor. choice for vice president.
Although the vice presidency holds limited power over American politics, past elections have shown that this choice can be an asset – or a liability – for presidential campaigns.
This year’s Republican vice presidential pick could be particularly important, given that the race between Trump and Biden is expected to be close. Trump is expected to reveal his choice in the coming weeks, well before the November 5 election.
Here, Al Jazeera examines Trump’s possible running mates, their opinions and what they could bring to the 2024 Republican field.
Elise Stefanik, US Congresswoman
When she was first elected to the House of Representatives in 2014, Stefanik was the youngest woman in history to join the House. She was then 30 years old.
She has since become a rising star in the Republican Party, representing New York’s 21st District.
Stefanik currently serves as chairman of the House Republican Conference, the third leadership role for Republicans in the House. She is also one of Trump’s strongest supporters in Congress.
Stefanik, who supported Trump’s false claims that the 2020 election was stolen by widespread voter fraud, was among 147 Republican legislators who voted against the certification of Biden’s election victory.
She gained national attention earlier this year when she used a congressional hearing to hammer American college presidents over pro-Palestinian protests on their campuses, accusing administrators of allowing anti-Semitism to continue unchecked.
But critics noted that Stefanik herself had been criticized for her discriminatory posts. In 2021, for example, his campaign released ads warning that immigration would “upend our current electorate and create a permanent liberal majority.”
Critics said this message reflected the so-called “great replacement theory,” a white supremacy conspiracy theory which falsely claims that whites are being replaced as a result of a conspiracy to increase non-white immigration. The theory was invoked in a attack on Pittsburgh synagogue in 2018, one of the deadliest cases of anti-Jewish violence in recent US history.
In recent weeks, Stefanik visited Israel to show support as the country wages a deadly war in the Gaza Strip. She has also slammed Trump was convicted of the crime in New York, saying the verdict was the result of a “rigged” justice system.
Tim Scott, US Senator
The only black Republican in the US Senate, the South Carolina politician entered the presidential race in May last year – but dropped out before the primaries even began, throwing his weight behind Trump.
The former president praised Scott as “a great politician” after receiving his support.
Since then, Scott has been a prominent Trump supporter, defending the ex-president in numerous major interviews on US television and joining him on the campaign trail.
Earlier this month, US media reported that Scott was launching an outreach effort worth more than $14 million to get black voters to support Republicans in key battleground states in November.
“The Republican Party, we offer you freedom. They (the Democrats) offer you oppression,” he said recently. video on social networks about what the GOP can offer communities of color. “We are offering more money; they don’t offer money.
Politically, Scott – who regularly invokes his Christian faith – has expressed support for law enforcement, vowed to protect religious freedom against what he called an “assault” from extreme left and promised to reform the education system.
JD Vance, US Senator
Vance entered American politics in 2022 after the success of his book, Hillbilly Elegy, which detailed his upbringing in the country’s Rust Belt.
A venture capitalist, Vance graduated from Yale Law School and served in the U.S. Army during the Iraq War before being elected to represent the state of Ohio in the Senate.
He made a name for himself through his harsh criticism of the Biden administration, particularly on issues like the economy and immigration.
His embrace of so-called “culture war” issues has also made him a darling of conservatives, particularly among Trump’s Make America Great Again (MAGA) base. He regularly speaks out against diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) programs that aim to combat systemic racism and other forms of discrimination.
Vance used his family history and childhood to try to present himself as an advocate for white, working-class Americans.
Tom Cotton, US Senator
Cotton — a U.S. senator from the state of Arkansas — is outspoken on a range of domestic issues, but he has focused largely on foreign policy.
He is a staunch defender of Israel and recently joined a group of U.S. lawmakers who introduced legislation to sanction the International Criminal Court whether he follows through on arrest warrants for Israeli leaders accused of committing war crimes in Gaza.
Facing fears that Trump could cut aid to Ukraine if elected, Cotton defended the former president, saying he “supports Ukraine’s strength and survival” as it fights back against a full-scale Russian invasion.
“I don’t think President Trump wants to prejudge the situation in January, and neither do I, partly because we have no idea how badly Joe Biden can screw things up. We have to judge the circumstances as they exist, next year, when (Trump) returns to power,” Cotton said on FOX News.
While Trump has been skeptical of continued U.S. aid to kyiv – highlighting divisions within the Republican Party itself – Cotton recently voted in favor of a huge bill this included $61 billion for Ukraine.
Cotton is also a hawk on China and has led congressional efforts to “decouple” the U.S. and Chinese economies. Among its main causes is an effort to break the social media platform TikTok of its developer, the Chinese company ByteDance, for reasons of national security.
The Arkansas Republican drew criticism earlier this year when he asked TikTok CEO Shou Chew if he had ties to the Chinese Communist Party during a congressional hearing.
In an exchange that went viral on social media, Cotton asked, “Have you ever been a member of the Chinese Community Party?” Chew replied: “Senator, I am Singaporean. No.”
Doug Burgum, Governor of North Dakota
A former software executive and multimillionaire, Burgum ended his bid for the Republican presidential nomination in December and endorsed Trump about a month later.
He had struggled to generate initial momentum for his campaign, particularly in the run-up to last year’s Republican presidential debates.
His campaign initially stayed afloat by offering gift cards in exchange for campaign donations. This configuration allowed him to gather the minimum number of donors to qualify for the party’s first two debates.
Trump praised Burgum’s business prowess after receiving his support, telling a North Dakota radio station: “I’ve always had a lot of respect for Doug. »
As governor of North Dakota, Burgum signed into law a law almost completely banning abortion, as well as legislation making it a crime to provide gender-affirming health care to most minors.
Burgum and other Republican lawmakers traveled to New York last month to show support for Trump during his secret criminal trial. Echoing the ex-president himself, Burgum denounced the affair as “election interference.”
Marco Rubio, US senator
The Florida Republican is one of the most experienced politicians on Trump’s shortlist for vice president — even though the ex-president has a history of sparring with him.
The son of Cuban immigrants, Rubio has represented Florida in the U.S. Senate since 2011.
He ran for the Republican presidential nomination in 2016, facing Trump in the race. They frequently traded personal jabs during the primaries.
Rubio, for example, called Trump a “crook” and said he turned the 2016 race into “one of the most vulgar spectacles in American political history.” Trump described Rubio as a “choke” and a “lightweight.” He also disdainfully nicknamed the Florida senator “Little Marco.”
But Rubio has since embraced and defended the former president, calling Trump’s recent conviction in the affair of silence in New York, it is a “nasty, ugly flaw” for the reputation of the United States.
The Florida senator said he wanted to “secure” the US-Mexico border and supported a 15-week abortion ban in the state. When it comes to foreign policy, Rubio belongs to the hawkish wing of the Republican Party and has promoted tough policies against Cuba, Iran and China.
Choosing Rubio as vice president would present a minor complication for the Trump campaign: The 12th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution says that presidential and vice presidential nominees cannot be from the same home state.
Both Trump and Rubio reside in Florida. But if Rubio is Trump’s choice, he could change his official residence before the election.
