Although Sens. J.D. Vance of Ohio and Marco Rubio of Florida, and North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum are believed to be on Donald Trump's shortlist of running mates, a poll of likely voters favored Sen. Tim Scott of South Carolina to be the GOP vice presidential candidate.
The DailyMail.com poll of 1,000 likely voters showed 13% favored Scott, with 12% each favoring Rubio and Ben Carson, the secretary of Housing and Urban Development in the Trump administration. Vance and Burgum are next, tied with 4% each, followed by Reps. Elise Stefanik of New York, chair of the House Republican Conference, and Byron Donalds of Florida with 3% each.
With the start of the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee just a week away, speculation is running rampant on who Trump will pick to be his running mate. The former president has said he will announce his choice around the time of the convention.
Trump is scheduled to have a rally in Miami on Tuesday, making some believe he could use that to name Donalds or Rubio. Then again, he has a rally set for Saturday in Butler, Pennsylvania, outside of Pittsburgh, which is near Vance's home state.
Donald Trump Jr. and conservative activist Charlie Kirk have been promoting Vance as the pick of the grassroots movement, the Daily Mail reported. Pollster Kellyanne Conway, a former White House press secretary in the Trump administration, has argued that Rubio would do best at bringing in key demographic groups to the Trump coalition.
"'As President Trump has said himself, the top criteria in selecting a vice president is a strong leader who will make a great president for eight years after his next four-year term concludes," said Trump campaign senior adviser Brian Hughes, according to the Daily Mail. "But anyone telling you they know who or when President Trump will choose his vice president is lying unless that person is named Donald J. Trump."
Michael Katz ✉
Michael Katz is a Newsmax reporter with more than 30 years of experience reporting and editing on news, culture, and politics.
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