Former President Donald Trump's reported short list of potential vice-presidential running mates differs from a new poll's results of Republican voters' top choices for vice president.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley, entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy and Texas Gov. Greg Abbott finished Nos. 1-4, respectively, in June's I&I/TIPP Poll that asked GOP voters, "Who is your top choice for Trump's vice president?"
DeSantis earned 14% support, followed by Haley with 11%, Ramaswamy with 8% and Abbott with 7%.
The interesting thing about the survey results is that none of the top four finishers were among the people on Trump's short list reported last week.
The Associated Press reported that Trump's campaign had begun requesting information from potential vice presidential candidates, sending vetting paperwork to a list of top contenders in recent weeks.
Among those who received requests are North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum, Florida Sen. Marco Rubio, Ohio Sen. J.D. Vance, and South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott.
Florida Rep. Byron Donalds, New York Rep. Elise Stefanik, and Dr. Ben Carson, secretary of Housing and Urban Development in the Trump administration, also were said to be on the list.
The Washington Examiner reported that the I&I/TIPP poll results led "some [Trump] supporters to believe that his list is either a head fake or that he is letting revenge guide his decision."
Both DeSantis and Haley ran against Trump, the GOP's presumptive nominee, for the top spot on the party's national ticket.
Scott (6%), Carson (5%), political commentator Tucker Carlson (4%) and former Hawaii Rep. Tulsi Gabbard (3%) finished Nos. 5-8 in the June I&I/TIPP poll's "top choice" responses.
Burgum and Rubio each received 2%, as did former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Arizona U.S. Senate candidate Kari Lake.
Donalds, Vance and Stefanik were among a group of people with 1% support in the I&I/TIPP poll.
A total of 26% of respondents answered "not sure" when asked for their top choice.
When combining top choice and No. 2 choice answers, DeSantis (24%), Haley (15%), Abbott (13%), Scott (12%), and Ramaswamy and Carson (11% each) were the top finishers.
"Will Trump seek a running mate who in the White House will provide him with strong political and policy backing, and serve as a sounding board?" Issues and Insights asked.
"Or will Trump, with his keen deal-making acumen and go-it-alone bravado, be open to selecting someone with selective demographic appeal to help with outreach to groups to win the election, but then give him or her little to do as vice president?"
The I&I/TIPP survey was conducted May 29-31 among 693 Republicans and GOP-leaning voters. It has a margin of error of +/-3.8 percentage points.
Charlie McCarthy ✉
Charlie McCarthy, a writer/editor at Newsmax, has nearly 40 years of experience covering news, sports, and politics.
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