Crowded GOP field increases the chance for Trump to win nomination

The 2024 Republican primary is heating up. Former President Donald Trump overwhelmingly leads rivals, followed by Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, who is polling a distant second in the race with a stagnant favorability rating, which stimulated other candidates to announce their bid for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination.

On Monday, former Vice President Mike Pence filed the paperwork at the Federal Election Committee. According to the New York Times, the former vice president is set to formally announce his candidacy in Iowa on Jun. 7, where the Iowa caucuses are expected to hold in early 2024.

A devout Christian supporting the theory of creation, Pence will promote himself as the unswervingly conservative candidate, with his strong support for an anti-abortion cause, in Iowa, a conservative-leaning state. Although Pence served in the White House under the Trump administration, he distanced himself from Trump since the riot by Trump supporters at the U.S. Capitol in January 2021.

Former New Jersey Governor Chris Christie and North Dakota Governor Doug Burgum are also expected to announce their bids. Known as the “Trump slayer,” the former New Jersey governor will promote his appeal to independents as his competitiveness. Burgum, a former software CEO and billionaire, is advocating tax cuts.

For Trump, however, the more GOP presidential candidates, the better, as this would split the vote and increase the chance for Trump to become the Republican nominee. In the 2016 GOP nomination race, Trump remained a front-runner with an approval rating of 35 percent due to many contenders.

Yet, New Hampshire Governor Chris Sununu, who was expected to run for the Republican presidential nomination, wrote in The Washington Post that he would not seek the party’s 2024 nomination. “The stakes are too high for a crowded field to hand the nomination to a candidate who earns just 35 percent of the vote, and I will help ensure this does not happen,” the New Hampshire governor wrote. Former Maryland Governor Larry Hogan said he would not challenge Trump in the 2024 primary, saying that too many contenders would only give the former president the upper hand.


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