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Trump has a long list of national lawmakers who have endorsed him. So, while the holdouts might bother him on a personal level, they likely don’t have much influence over the Republican nomination in 2024.
Despite increasing signs that former President Donald Trump is all but sure to be the Republican presidential nominee in 2024, some prominent GOP lawmakers are holding out on endorsing the front-runner.
The holdouts resist offering their backing despite a Republican field of contenders that has narrowed in recent months to just one: former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, who solidified her position as the main GOP alternative to Trump and is still in the race after losing both Iowa and New Hampshire to him. Haley insists she’s not going anywhere.
“I have news for all of them. New Hampshire is first in the nation. It is not the last,” Haley said to supporters after her second-place finish in New Hampshire. “This race is far from over. There are dozens of states left to go, and the next one is my sweet state of South Carolina.”
The refusal of the former U.N. ambassador under Trump to step down is increasingly drawing the ire of her former boss.
“Nikki ‘Birdbrain’ Haley is very bad for the Republican Party and, indeed, our Country. Her False Statements, Derogatory Comments, and Humiliating Public Loss is demeaning to True American Patriots,” Trump posted on his Truth Social platform on Wednesday, flexing his grip over the party and throwing down the gauntlet to those who withhold their loyalty.
“Anybody that makes a ‘Contribution’ to Birdbrain, from this moment forth, will be permanently barred from the MAGA camp. We don’t want them, and will not accept them, because we Put America First, and ALWAYS WILL!” he said.
But concerning endorsements, Haley hasn’t necessarily benefited from the Trump holdouts, notably because they haven’t gone as far as to endorse her for the nomination. Haley’s list of endorsements pales in comparison to the former presidents, and many of the Trump holdouts acknowledge that he is likely to be the nominee.
Haley’s highest-profile endorsement was arguably from New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu, a long-time, vocal Trump critic who has already announced he doesn’t plan to seek reelection. That seems to be a recurring theme in her endorsements, which are overwhelmingly from former officeholders not dependent on Trump or his base.
Endorsements in general can give momentum to a candidate’s campaign but rarely make a major difference. For Trump and those who have not publicly backed him, some of these decisions are personal. Choosing not to endorse Trump is seen by many as a provocation as the former president – who doesn’t shy away from calling out his political enemies – threatens to take names.
To be sure, Trump has a long list of people who have backed him. So while the holdouts might bother him on a personal level, they likely don’t have much influence over the Republican nomination in 2024. The list includes former rivals for the presidential nomination, key senators and unlikely previous foes, like Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, Sen. Tim Scott of South Carolina, Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida, Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders, Sen. Josh Hawley of Missouri, Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas, Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, Sen. John Barasso of Wyoming, Sen. John Cornyn of Texas, and Sen. Deb Fischer of Nebraska.
Still, some notable lawmakers have declined to fall in line behind the presumptive nominee – despite increasing pressure.
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell
McConnell has said he has “essentially stayed out” of the GOP nomination process.
McConnell and Trump have had a historically cold and complicated relationship. While McConnell gave a blistering speech about Trump’s role in the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol, he did not vote to convict Trump in his second impeachment trial.
Some have suspected that if Trump does win the election, McConnell might step aside as the Senate minority leader.
Sen. Mitt Romney of Utah
Romney has been clear that he is not supporting Trump in his bid for reelection.
He was the only Republican to vote twice to impeach Trump and has been a target for many attacks by the former president and his surrogates.
Romney has said he hasn’t ruled out voting for President Joe Biden in the 2024 election, but he said he would most like to support West Virginia Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin, who has hinted at an independent bid for the presidency.
Romney announced earlier this year he would not run for reelection to the Senate.
Sen. Susan Collins of Maine
Collins told reporters this week that she does not see herself endorsing Trump.
“I’m glad to hear last night that Nikki Haley is determined to stay in,” said Collins, who is the top-ranking Republican on the Senate Appropriations Committee. “And I think the more people see of her, particularly since she appears to be the only alternative to Donald Trump right now, the more impressed that they will be.”
Still, she clarified that the kind words were not to be construed as a Haley endorsement.
Collins, a long-time GOP moderate, did not endorse Trump in 2016 and refused to say at the time whether she supported him in 2020. She was one of seven Republican senators who voted to convict Trump at his second impeachment trial on charges related to the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol. She voted to acquit the former president in his first impeachment trial.
Sen. John Thune of South Dakota
Thune, the chamber’s No. 2 Republican, had endorsed Scott as a candidate for the GOP nomination. Trump allies mounted an unsuccessful effort to unseat Thune during the GOP primary contest after the senator from South Dakota was critical of Trump’s efforts to overturn the 2020 election.
But Thune has also said he will support the eventual Republican nominee.
“I’m interested in what the people are saying, and voters are breaking heavily in his favor. He’s in a commanding position, and I’ve said all along I’ll support the nominee,” Thune said about Trump on Wednesday. “If he’s the nominee, I’ll do what I can to help the team win the presidency and the Senate and put an end to the Biden/Schumer agenda.”
Sen. Joni Ernst of Iowa
Ernst, a member of the Republican leadership, hasn’t endorsed Trump after prominently supporting him in 2020. Insisting on maintaining neutrality through the Iowa caucuses, the first-in-the-nation presidential nominating contest, she has yet to throw her support to a candidate.
The senator has established some daylight between herself and the former president, using tough words in an op-ed after the Jan. 6 insurrection at the Capitol to denounce rioters and demand they be punished to the fullest extent of the law. More recently, Ernst has broken from hard-core Trump supporters who have taken to using the phrase “hostages” to describe those who have been tried and imprisoned.
Ernst has indicated a Trump endorsement is still possible but said she would support whoever is up against Biden.
“I just want to beat Joe Biden, OK? However, we get there, I’m all about it,” she told NBC News. “So that’s going to be my focus. So, I’ll reserve comment till we get later on into the general election. But Joe Biden’s got to go. We all know that. So, at some point, we’ll all coalesce to target Joe Biden. He’s the one we need to be focusing on.” (https://www.usnews.com/news/national-news/articles/2024-01-26/which-top-republicans-havent-endorsed-trump-yet)
