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GOP scramble is on to succeed Donald Trump in 2024

From Mike Pence and Mike Pompeo to Nikki Haley and Ted Cruz, the cast of potential White House hopefuls is out in force at CPAC.

By ALEX ISENSTADT

President Donald Trump is locked in a tough reelection battle, yet the Republicans looking to succeed him are already circling.

They’re visiting early primary states, reaching out to major donors, and — in one instance — even running commercials in Iowa. But perhaps the most overt display of ambition is on display this week here at the Conservative Political Action Conference, a rite of passage for White House aspirants eager to audition before thousands of activists whose support can be critical down the line.

Those with the most prominent speaking roles — a list that includes the likes of Vice President Mike Pence, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, and Texas Sen. Ted Cruz — are regarded as likely 2024 contenders. At Wednesday evening’s opening reception, former U.N. ambassador Nikki Haley was mobbed by fans, including a woman who wore a “Nikki 2024” baseball cap. Haley took a picture with the woman and signed the hat.

Pete Seat, a former White House aide to George W. Bush, was on hand observing the Haley love fest. He called the annual conference a “proving ground” for Republicans intent on building a national profile.

“The Ted Cruzes, the Nikki Haleys, the Mike Pences, anyone who’s looking at 2024 has to be here otherwise they’re committing political malpractice. And that’s why you’re seeing them here this week,” said Seat, a former Indiana GOP executive director.

The early activity underscores how Republicans, even at this early juncture, are starting to think about life after Trump. While the president’s reelection is the GOP's immediate priority, prominent figures in the party are beginning to position themselves for what’s next.

As they took the stage at the cavernous Gaylord National Resort and Convention Center, the cast of potential 2024 hopefuls had different objectives. Some used their speaking time to trumpet the need to reelect the president and to echo an emerging Republican theme of 2020 that's enraptured attendees: The threat of a socialist takeover.

While Haley spoke about squaring off against socialist regimes during her tenure at the U.N., House GOP Conference Chairwoman Liz Cheney (Wyo), the daughter of former Vice President Dick Cheney, gave a shout-out to a man in the audience who had escaped Fidel Castro’s rule in Cuba.

Others are taking steps to highlight pet issues or accomplishments. Pompeo, who is delivering the keynote speech Friday evening, is expected to focus heavily on his record as secretary of state. According to a person familiar with his planned remarks, Pompeo will describe his negotiations with foreign countries, including his work to free American hostages from North Korea, and the role he played in eliminating terrorist leaders.

Freshman Missouri Sen. Josh Hawley, who's drawn buzz in GOP circles as a rising star in the party and potential presidential aspirant, is expected to talk about “the right path forward on big tech.” Cruz, who many believe will wage a second White House bid after falling short in 2016, used his appearance to record a live taping of his newly-launched podcast “The Verdict.”

Donald Trump Jr. is also on the conference speaker list, and some attendees were spotted carrying around his book. While many have floated the president's son as a prospective 2024 candidate, people close to him insist he has no interest.

Pence, meanwhile, took time out from overseeing the administration’s response to the coronavirus outbreak to address the conference Thursday afternoon.

It is no accident that CPAC has become a stomping ground for those with presidential ambitions: Many believe the confab helped to catapult Trump to the White House. The New York businessman first started attending the event in 2011, long before he was taken seriously as a presidential candidate. Trump became a regular, bringing a large entourage and a celebrity aura that over time helped turn him into a conservative favorite.

Trump was just the latest in a long line of Republican figures who made presidential forays at CPAC. Then-California Governor Ronald Reagan made his first appearance at the conference in 1974, and as president more than a decade later, he would remark that returning to the conference was an “opportunity to ‘dance with the one that brung ya.’”

Andy Surabian, a Republican strategist who worked on Trump’s 2016 campaign, said the conference “gives potential future candidates a rare opportunity to make a lasting impression on the GOP base.”

“Just ask President Donald Trump,” Surabian added.

When Trump first started showing up at the conference, it “seemed like a novelty act," said Seat, the former George W. Bush aide. “But here we are. He’s not Mr. Trump. He’s President Donald J. Trump and it started here at CPAC.”

The early 2024 activity hasn’t been limited to CPAC. Arkansas Sen. Tom Cotton is set to headline a New Hampshire political dinner in May. Pence has made several trips to South Carolina over the past year, even though the state has scrapped its 2020 Republican presidential primary and won’t have another one until 2024.

And before last month’s Iowa caucuses, Florida Sen. Rick Scott raised eyebrows when he ran an unusual face-to-camera TV ad in the state in which he savaged Joe Biden and defended Trump.

Matt Mowers, a Republican congressional candidate from New Hampshire making the rounds at CPAC, said he’s been in touch with some potential 2024 contenders. He said he wouldn’t be surprised if early-state activity ramps up soon after the 2020 election.

Mowers, a longtime operative in the state who for a time served in the Trump administration, said his advice to would-be candidates is to “focus on the president’s reelection first.”

But he added: “It’s never too early to make friends.”

Former Michigan Rep. Thaddeus McCotter, a conservative radio show host who waged a short-lived 2012 White House bid, offered a word of caution for those making the 2024 rounds. You don’t want to look too eager while a sitting president is still running for reelection, he said.

The former congressman recalled some advice he once heard from a friend.

“If you’re gonna campaign,” he said, “don’t look like you’re campaigning.”