We won’t know whether or not President Donald Trump will win a second term for (at least) six more days.
But ambitious Republicans aren’t waiting around to see if Trump can pull off a major upset. They’re out campaigning for candidates in what is rightly understood as the early jockeying for the 2024 GOP nomination.
Earlier this week, Nebraska’s Sen. Ben Sasse was at the University of Iowa to deliver a lecture titled “American Order and Disorder, at Home and Abroad.” And on Tuesday, Sasse was back in Iowa to “knock on doors for his friend Joni Ernst,” according to James Wegmann, communications director for the senator.
Last week, former United Nations Ambassador (and former South Carolina Gov.) Nikki Haley was in Iowa stumping for Ernst. Arkansas’ Sen. Tom Cotton, who is coasting to a second term this year, has made stops in both Iowa and New Hampshire in recent months.
All of these potential 2024 candidates insist they are solely focused on this election and helping Republicans keep their Senate majority. To which I say: Bull!
No politician just happens into Iowa. Not one. Doesn’t happen.
What these candidate visits make clear is that the fight for the future of the post-Trump GOP has already begun. Whether Trump loses in six days or wins and serves four more years in office, the party and its potential future leaders have begun to grapple with what comes next.
The Point: Politics never sleeps. While Trump will remain a force within the GOP whether he wins or loses, he is also operating on borrowed political time now. The fight to be the Next Big Thing in Republican politics has already started.
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