How Trump’s ongoing feuds with GOP governors could throw a massive wrench in his campaign

09 May 2024

Sen. J.D. Vance (R-Ohio) and Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Florida) were once outspoken critics of Donald Trump, but in 2024, they are reportedly among the contenders for the presumptive GOP presidential nominee's running mate. Others, according to reports, include Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-New York) and South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem — although the New York Post reported that Trump's campaign has ruled Noem out because of the controversies surrounding her new book, "No Going Back: The Truth on What’s Wrong with Politics and How We Move America Forward."

In an article published on May 9, NBC News reporters Henry J. Gomez and Matt Dixon examine a complication that could come with picking Vance or Rubio as a running mate: the Republican governors in their states.

"If Trump goes with Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida," Gomez and Dixon report, "Gov. Ron DeSantis would be in line to select his replacement — perhaps immediately if Rubio resigns and relocates to avoid the constitutional hang-up of having both candidates on the ticket residing in the same state. If Sen. JD Vance of Ohio becomes vice president, Gov. Mike DeWine would pick a new senator."

The NBC News journalists note that both DeSantis and DeWine have "fractious histories with Trump," and that Trump allies have "doubts about whether" the senators they would choose as replacements "would meet the often rigid right-wing standards of" Trump's "MAGA movement."

A Trump ally, quoted anonymously, told NBC News, "Trump does not want to give DeSantis that appointment. It's something being considered."

According to former Rep. Jim Renacci (R-Ohio), pleasing Trump would not be a priority for DeWine if he needed to choose a senator to replace Vance.

Renacci told NBC News, "I don't think Gov. DeWine really is concerned about what President Trump's thoughts are or what he thinks. He's in his last term. He doesn't need the blessing of the former president."

According to a Trump campaign staffer, many GOP insiders are especially bullish on Vance's chances of being Trump's running mate and see him as "a lock." But that source also said that Sen. Tim Scott (R-South Carolina) is still being considered.

"Choosing Scott would also put the decision about his successor in the hands of a GOP governor," Gomez and Dixon observe, "but in that case, one who is an unquestionable Trump ally: Henry McMaster of South Carolina. DeWine, himself a former senator, has had far more friction with Trump and his base."

Read NBC News' full report at this link.

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