Former President Donald Trump is reportedly seriously considering naming Arizona’s Kari Lake as his 2024 running mate and is focused on naming a woman to his ticket.
The failed gubernatorial candidate checks several boxes for Trump although some aides fear she might eventually overshadow him, Axios reported.
Lake, a former TV anchor, comes from a key swing state and is unflinchingly loyal to Trump, an indispensable trait for any potential veep.
She also has few pesky anti-Trump positions that might come back to haunt her in a national campaign.
Even though Lake lost the 2022 Arizona race that was her maiden political campaign, she blames the defeat on voter fraud. That stance dovetails nicely with Trump’s false claims about his 2020 loss to President Joe Biden.
Lake has made no secret of her ambitions and heaped praise on Trump during a high-profile speech at the recent CPAC gathering.
Her biggest drawback with Trump is said to be her charismatic persona and magnetic hold on Trump’s MAGA base of right-wing voters. Some aides believe Trump will shy away from picking anyone like Lake with the potential to outshine him, Axios reports.
Trump is seriously considering adding a woman to his 2024 ticket at least in part to limit the wide advantage that Democrats enjoy with female voters, particularly in the politically crucial suburbs.
Along with Lake, at least three other women are also in the running: South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem, Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders, and ex-U.N. ambassador Nikki Haley.
Noem, who boasts all-American roots in the heartland, has long been a favorite of Trump while Huckabee Sanders wins brownie points for her loyal service as his one-time White House spokeswoman.
Haley is the daughter of Indian immigrants to small-town South Carolina, who could bring much needed diversity to the GOP ticket. After briefly breaking with Trump after the Jan. 6 attack, she has recently steadfastly avoided criticizing him.
But Haley has her own independent political base and has already announced her own run for the 2024 GOP nod, both of which could wind up earning black marks from Trump.
A Trump spokesman pooh-poohed Axios’s reporting, suggesting that no one really knows who might be on the former president’s short list.
“Trump will choose his running mate on his own time,” said Steven Cheung, the spokesman.
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