'Risk-averse' GOP donors are 'trying to sabotage' J.D. Vance’s VP hopes: report

10 July 2024

With the start of the 2024 Republican National Convention less than a week away, presumptive presidential nominee Donald Trump's announcement of a running mate could come any day.

The Republicans who are reportedly on Trump's short list include Sen. J.D. Vance (R-Ohio), Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Florida) and North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum. Of those three, Vance is the one who excites hardcore MAGA voters the most — as they view Rubio and Burgum as too GOP establishment.

But in an article published on July 10, the Daily Beast's Jake Lahut reports that "risk-averse" GOP donors fear having Vance on the ticket would make Trump less electable. And some of them are trying to derail Vance's hopes of becoming vice president.

"The best thing Vance has going for him in the Trump veepstakes, among the base, may also be his undoing as a potential running mate — some donors are scared of him," Lahut explains. "The very same coastal elites who once adored Vance have been trying to sabotage his vice presidential aspirations, according to three Republicans familiar with the veepstakes who spoke to The Daily Beast."

GOP sources, interviewed on condition of anonymity, told the Beast that donors see Rubio as the "safe option."

A Republican strategist told the Beast, "Donors have really coalesced around Burgum and Rubio at this point…. Burgum makes the most sense to me."

That source noted, however, that Palm Beach, Florida-based GOP operative Susie Wiles "certainly wants Vance."

According to Lahut, high-profile GOP megadonors believe that Burgum would have a better shot at helping Trump win over undecided voters.

A Trump operative told the Beast, "At this point, I think the Republican donor class wants a GOP president more than anything.”

Read the Daily Beast's full report at this link (subscription required).

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