Effectively on his approach to the Republican nomination and wanting to solid himself as inevitable, Donald J. Trump has repeatedly invited hypothesis about his operating mate.
Now organizers for some of the distinguished gatherings of the conservative motion plan to comply with swimsuit.
The 2024 Conservative Political Motion Convention, referred to as CPAC, which begins on Wednesday, will conclude on Saturday with a straw ballot that may embrace a vice-presidential query for the primary time in not less than a decade, organizers say.
The query, which asks CPAC attendees to choose the most effective operating mate for Mr. Trump, nods to the place consideration is quickly more likely to flip within the Republican main race. However its inclusion and Trump-specific wording are additionally the most recent signal of simply how fully the previous president now dominates the social gathering and its conglomerate of allied teams.
The slate of choices, with 17 potential contenders, reads like a V.I.P. record for the most recent black-tie gala at Mar-a-Lago.
It consists of among the names most frequently floated, like Senator Tim Scott of South Carolina, Consultant Elise Stefanik of New York and Senator J.D. Vance of Ohio, in accordance with a model of the ballot shared with The New York Occasions.
Barely longer photographs additionally make an look: Ben Carson, the 2016 presidential contender who served in Mr. Trump’s cupboard; Tucker Carlson, the previous Fox Information anchor; and Consultant Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia.
The record options some unconventional decisions, too, like Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who’s operating for president as an impartial, and former Consultant Tulsi Gabbard, who ran for the Democratic presidential nomination in 2020 earlier than leaving the social gathering and turning into an impartial.
Whereas Mr. Trump is the overwhelming favourite for the Republican nomination, he’s, in truth, nonetheless dealing with a main problem from former Gov. Nikki Haley. The vice-presidential ballot query doesn’t simply ignore that element, which is perhaps bothersome for Trump allies; the record of his potential operating mates consists of Ms. Haley as an possibility. It additionally consists of two vanquished challengers, Gov. Ron DeSantis of Florida and Vivek Ramaswamy.
The CPAC straw ballot may even embrace the gathering’s conventional query about whom attendees wish to nominate for president, which Mr. Trump has gained six consecutive occasions. With polls exhibiting that Mr. Trump maintains a robust grip on the social gathering’s conservative base, the query about his operating mate is bound to attract way more consideration.
The previous president has mentioned potential operating mates with shut advisers, who’ve examined which contenders he has the most effective chemistry with and supplied political evaluation about their positions on abortion.
Publicly, Mr. Trump has provided conflicting ideas on his potential No. 2. Simply earlier than the Iowa caucuses final month, he stated he already knew whom he would select. He walked that again this month, saying he had not determined and that he wouldn’t announce his resolution “for some time.” He has stated his operating mate needs to be somebody “who’s going to be an excellent president.”
Matt Schlapp, the chairman of the American Conservative Union, which hosts CPAC, stated he had compiled the record alongside together with his spouse, Mercedes, a longtime Republican strategist, and others on the CPAC crew.
Mr. Schlapp stated that all the hypothetical contenders had been invited to talk on the convention and that about half had accepted, together with Kari Lake, a candidate for Senate in Arizona; Gov. Kristi Noem of South Dakota; Mr. Ramaswamy; and Ms. Stefanik.
“That is like our model of ‘The Apprentice,’” Mr. Schlapp stated, referring to the truth tv present that featured Mr. Trump for 14 seasons. “They’ll all get an opportunity to make remarks and provides conservative activists a way of what they’re about. And I’m certain Mr. Trump might be very to see the outcomes of the straw ballot.”
Mr. Trump has reveled in his lengthy historical past of heat welcomes at CPAC and is more likely to obtain one other subsequent week. He’s scheduled to handle the convention on Saturday, the identical day because the Republican presidential main election in South Carolina.
CPAC, which held its first gathering in 1974 that includes Ronald Reagan, has advanced through the years and now attracts tons of of pro-Trump activists and conservative media figures.
To attraction to that viewers, the occasion subsequent week features a handful of speakers with shut ties to the previous president, together with Kevin Hassett, a former Trump financial adviser; Stephen Ok. Bannon, the previous Trump White Home strategist and podcast host; and Lara Trump, Mr. Trump’s daughter-in-law, whom he has backed for a Republican Nationwide Committee management publish.
Maggie Haberman and Jonathan Swan contributed reporting.
