The Republican field for the presidential nomination is slowly but surely heating up, with high-profile GOP figures making the rounds across the country.
So far, only a few figures such as former President Donald Trump and former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley have officially announced their campaigns, but there are plenty of other presumptive candidates waiting in the wings as 2024 draws near.
Here’s who to keep an eye on.
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Donald Trump
Former President Donald Trump officially announced his third run for president last November at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach, Florida.
“America’s comeback starts right now,” Trump said in his announcement.
But Trump, who was previously seen as the favorite to win the nomination, has faced multiple setbacks since he last held office. Underperformance from Trump-style candidates in the 2022 midterms put a damper on his announcement speech in mid-November, and most recently the prospect of criminal indictments has mired his campaign.
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Nikki Haley
Former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations and South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley was the second notable candidate to officially enter the race after Trump. In her first campaign rally in her home state of South Carolina in February, Haley called for a “new generation” of leaders.
“We need someone who can shake up Washington and the political class,” said Haley. On the campaign trail, the 51-year-old candidate has touted her youth compared to other prominent figures in politics.
Haley has anchored the start of her campaign on that youth, making headlines when she called for “mental competency tests for politicians over 75 years old,” taking aim at, without naming them, the 76-year-old Trump and 80-year-old President Joe Biden.
Vivek Ramaswamy
Outside of household Republican names, conservative entrepreneur and multi-millionaire Vivek Ramaswamy announced his presidential campaign in late February.
“It may seem presumptuous for a 37-year-old political outsider to pursue the highest office in the land, but I am running on a vision for our nation—one that revives merit in every sphere of American life,” said Ramaswamy, who has never held elected office before, in a Wall Street Journal op-ed.
