Donald Trump is two months into his quadrennial Celebrity reality show Who Wants to be a Vice President Survivor?
Since his defeated Republican rivals Tim Scott, Vivek Ramaswamy and Doug Burgum joined him on stage in New Hampshire, Trump has loved turning his rally stages into auditions or mentioning new names in interviews.
The result is a mix of ‘The Apprentice’ and ‘Guess Who?’
Would Rep. Elise Stefanik, Nikki Haley or Gov. Kristi Noem help him win over the problematic suburban female vote?
Would Senator Tim Scott or Representative Byron Donalds help you make greater progress with African Americans?
To test the impact of the vice presidential election, JL Partners surveyed 1,000 voters about their voting intentions. The results show how a Trump-Rubio formula helps the former president slightly more than others
Former President Donald Trump photographed with Vivek Ramaswamy at his primary night watch party in Nashua, New Hampshire. Ramawamy often appears as a possible vice presidential pick
One of the newest, and perhaps most unexpected, names in the box is Sen. Marco Rubio, at a time when Trump’s world says the former president is seriously considering running with a Hispanic vice president.
Or how about Vivek Ramaswamy to bring over-the-top energy to the bill?
To test who adds what to the presidential ticket, JL Partners asked 1,000 likely voters what they thought about the vice presidential pick to run against Joe Biden and Kamala Harris.
The results are close, but they could offer food for thought for Trump as he ponders his decision (if he hasn’t already made one).
They show that Rubio offers the best prospect of turning Democrats away from Biden and Harris, while Ramaswamy, whose vibe is Trump with ADHD, fares worse.
Trump wins by one point when Rubio, Ramaswamy and Scott are on the ticket. But he loses to Stefanik, Haley or Noem.
Under Ramaswamy, about 88 percent of Republicans say they would vote for Trump’s ticket.
But for Stefanik that figure drops to 81 percent.
With Rubio, known as a more centrist Republican than Trump and with a deep interest in foreign policy, the ticket would achieve six points of Democratic support. Ramaswamy fares worse and would likely help boost Democratic turnout against Trump, according to the results.
Poll shows Vivek Ramaswamy most helping turn Republicans into
Senator Marco Rubio has been mentioned as a possible running mate within Trump’s inner circle.
Rep. Elise Stefanik (left) and even former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, who has not endorsed Trump since he dropped out of the presidential race, are other possible candidates.
Trump supporters who gathered Saturday in Wilmington, North Carolina, for a rally hastily postponed because of approaching storm clouds said they had no strong feelings.
As long as their man is on the list, they said his choice of running mate would make little difference.
Bob Sloan, 52, said he was confident Trump would make the right decision. Rubio, he added, seemed trustworthy, “to a point.”
“He’s a politician,” explained the port electrician. ‘I don’t trust politicians. That’s why I like Trump. You have to manage the country like a company.’
A complication for Rubio is that both he and Trump live in Florida. The former president has told his associates that Rubio would have to move to avoid violating constitutional norms, and that can be difficult for a father with a family and who has made his political life in Florida.
Trump speaks with North Dakota Governor Kristi Noem during a Buckeye Values PAC rally in Vandalia, Ohio, last month.
JL Partners surveyed 1,000 potential voters from March 20 to 24 via landline, mobile, SMS and apps. The results have a margin of error of +/- 3.1 percent.
The overall results show that Donald Trump maintains his four-point lead over Joe Biden, with just over seven months left until the presidential election on November 5.
James Johnson, co-founder of JL Partners, which conducted the poll, said one of the main considerations for Trump would be how well the vice president-elect polled with the public.
“Although the numbers are tight, our electoral tests with different vice presidential candidates show that the different options offer a variety of paths for Trump, some more optimal than others,” he said.
“Ramaswamy, for example, is better at shoring up support among Republicans and independents alike, although with Trump’s dominance of the Republican base, the former may not see much benefit.”
Rubio and Scott, he added, were in the best position to reach out to Democrats.
“The vice presidential candidate with the greatest reach seems to be Marco Rubio: he obtains better results among non-graduates, women and those over 65 years of age, the latter two groups being key areas of defense for the Republicans in the next elections,” he said.