Tuesday, July 4, 2023

With Donald Trump So Far Ahead in GOP Primary Race, Attention Turns to the Veepstakes


Duke reporting for RedState 

Even though I think it is so very premature to be talking about who is going to win the GOP nomination for president (Donald Trump?) in 2024, I think it is even crazier to talk about who would be the eventual nominee’s Veep choice. However, being that I’m a political junkie and I write for a political site, I am willing to suspend my normal rules of engagement to partake in a little bit of fun speculation.

Even though we are 15 months or just 490 days until that election happens.

As I was perusing some interesting articles to set aside for some light reading over the Independence Day holiday, I came across a story that caught my attention. This article speculates that the race for the vice presidency is already underway even though the GOP POTUS nominee has not even come close to being declared.

So imagine my surprise when I read this article here

The 2024 election season is well underway, with numerous Republican candidates vying for the party’s nomination. However, there is another lesser-known competition beginning to take shape: the race to become the running mate of the eventual Republican nominee.

Dubbed the “2024 veepstakes,” this race is still in its early stages but is already stirring up speculation and intrigue. Observers are closely watching for any signs of jockeying among potential candidates, as their chances of landing on the ticket will largely depend on who secures the presidential nomination.

Sources familiar with South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem and Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds see them as strong contenders for the vice presidential pick. These assessments are reinforced by outside GOP strategists who weigh in on the matter.

Another possible option is former South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley, as well as South Carolina Senator Tim Scott, both of whom are currently running for president but face persistent rumors that they may actually be positioning themselves for the vice-presidential slot instead.

So if the ladies are in the running for VEEP, I guess I have to knock off the repeal of the 19th amendment jokes and get in some reps to be prepared if one of them becomes the second most powerful politician in the world.

Both of these ladies are well-liked and respected in their home states. Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds won a reelection bid in 2022 with a solid 58 percent margin and South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem scored a 62 percent margin in 2022.

If either one of these ladies were eventually to be picked by Donald Trump or possibly somebody else who might sneak up and win the nomination, they would be considered solid pics. No Republican running for the Presidential nominee spot has foolishly painted themselves in a corner like Joe Biden did in 2020 by essentially checking off some boxes to meet a quota.

We can see how well that has served Biden and the country so far, two and a half years into his presidency.

While I do not live in either Iowa or South Dakota but reside in the deep blue state of Michigan (Michigan Is a BLUE State and Lying About It Won’t Change That Fact), I Can Only Imagine the pure bliss the citizens of both of those states must experience living in a well-run state.

Currently, here in Michigan, our Governor is spearheading an effort to make it a crime to offend somebody by using the wrong pronouns. Proposed Michigan Pronoun Law Would Kill Gretchen Whitmer’s Chance at a National Role

An example of running things well, in my opinion, is how South Dakota Governor Noem might be the only member of any party to refuse money from the feds even though the president was a member of her own party.

Noem declined a request for an interview but through her spokesman said the state used the federal stimulus money “wisely” to aid the state during the pandemic.

Spokesman Ian Fury said in an email to News Watch that the governor approached use of federal pandemic funding in a conservative fashion. She rejected former President Donald Trump’s offer of extended unemployment benefits for state workers in August 2020 and also sent back more than $80 million in rental assistance.

“We focused on solving long-term problems with one-time investments rather than creating new government programs,” Fury wrote. “We are confident that we utilized that money more wisely than other states would have.”

Now I’m sure that there are others that are being considered to be the pick, like Nikki Haley or fellow South Carolinian Tim Scott, and the article above does list both of those people. Yet I think it’s fair to say that anybody with a pulse and an R after their name would do a much better job than the current administration that is in charge of the executive branch.

In fact, the way the current vice president, who happens to be a Democrat, is doing her job, I think former vice presidents of the Democrat Party, like Walter Mondale or Hubert Humphrey, would do a much better job than her in their current condition even though they are not actually alive.

That, of course, is just wild speculation, but being that I’m in the mood to speculate on who will be the Republican VP pick in 15 months, why not take it just a little farther?

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