Trumps slow-rolling 2024 bid has gathered new support in the Senate

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The freshman duos come after two other upper-chamber Republicans, Sens. Lindsey Graham (RS.C.) and Tommy Tuberville (R-Ala.), who have supported Trump since the 2022 midterms. And although the four Senate GOP endorsements are an early indicator that Trump is ahead in the 2024 primary, it’s still a far cry from the support on the Hill that Trump enjoyed four years ago as an incumbent.

But a lot has changed since then: two impeachments, violent unrest at the Capitol and a presidential campaign that’s been going on for just two months after launching. Not to mention the intra-party ground that Trump lost in primary endorsements of Republican Senate candidates who lost races in Georgia, Nevada and Pennsylvania. What’s more, Trump has a legitimate potential primary rival in Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, in addition to several other contenders who plan to run.

Given that significantly altered landscape, Tuberville described the Trumps’ slow-building effort as intentional. He said he talked to Trump recently, and the former president told him he’s going to do little things early and kind of build our momentum, build our teams state by state.

I will be disappointed in the summer if we are gone [endorsements]. Ill put it that way. Right now, it’s not a big concern, Tuberville said.

Trump kicked off his campaign this weekend in New Hampshire and South Carolina, taking preemptive shots at DeSantis. Back on Capitol Hill on Monday, the raid got a mixed reception, particularly in the Senate. House Republicans have been quicker to endorse Trump in his third bid for the White House.

Some Republicans, especially those in high-ranking positions, say there is much hope for another candidate. Sen. said. John Cornyn (R-Texas) who seems to have a growing desire to get new blood.

There will be alternatives this time, apparently, said Senate Minority Whip John Thune (RS.D.), who called DeSantis too heavy-handed. There may be others too.

A Trump spokeswoman did not return a request for comment. And on Tuesday Vance confirmed to radio host Hugh Hewitt that he plans to endorse Trump in an upcoming op-ed.

Trump’s supporters and his skeptics are similar in one respect: They say the campaign is too early and many Capitol Hill Republicans are reluctant to make an endorsement before the field is settled. Fellow senators like Tim Scott (RS.C.) may even run, in addition to other top GOP names like DeSantis, former Vice President Mike Pence, former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo or former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley. Many senators are reluctant to make early enemies.

However, in presidential races, things move quickly. Sen. announced. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) launched his 2016 presidential campaign in March 2015, where Trump declared in June and barely won the support of the establishment until he began defeating his rivals in the primaries.

It’s up to them to know that for themselves they are all politicians, Graham said. No one endorsed him the last time he won.

And some say they don’t weigh, period. Sen. Katie Britt (R-Ala.), another first-term senator, said being on an RNC advisory council precludes her from making an endorsement. Sen. Steve Daines (R-Mont.), who heads the conference’s campaign arm, said he would also be neutral: That’s a fair question, and I’m focused on the Senate. Politics is about addition, not subtraction.

Other Republicans are watching to see if Trump’s early rumblings about running a more traditional campaign this time around will come true.

What I like is, he said he was talking about the future, Sen said. Mike Braun (R-Ind.), who is running for governor of his state in 2024, about Trump. If he stays in the future and only refers to the past about how good his pre-Covid record was, he could put together a winning formula.

Still, Braun’s ambivalence is telling. He was one of Trump’s strongest defenders during the former president’s first impeachment trial, and other longtime allies like Sens. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.), and Kevin Cramer (RN.D.) have yet to weigh in on the primary.

Trumps campaign also got off to a rocky start. Within weeks of his announcement, he railed against antisemites and proposed ending the Constitution. However, despite those controversies and ongoing federal investigations, Republicans privately acknowledge that there is a real possibility that Trump could be their nominee again, especially if the field is tight and he maintains his base of support.

Even senators who practice a different style of politics said they remained open to examining his bid for another term.

I will look into it. I’m going through the process everybody else is, said Sen. Thom Tillis (RN.C.), who described DeSantis as relatively effective but wants to see if his style of politics works nationally. It’s just not something, in my relatively short time in politics, that I ever remember talking about two years out.

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