South Carolina Senator Tim Scott would be a front-runner to be on the Donald Trump ticket for 2024. He has an inspiring backstory and is an engaging speaker.

It’s way too early to be speculating over vice presidential picks on the Republican side for the campaign for 2024. Presidential candidates usually do not pick their running mates until late summer before the November election.

That means the GOP nominee for VP announcement is at least many months away.

However, discussing this contingency is informative because it provides an analysis of the future leaders of the party.

Should former President Donald Trump win the nomination, he has a deep bench to choose from.

Here are the three top contenders who could be named as a running mate: 

I Know Senator Tim Scott: He Could Be Vice President

South Carolina Senator Tim Scott would be a front-runner to be on the Trump ticket for 2024. He has an inspiring backstory and is an engaging speaker.

Plus, the senator is an excellent fundraiser. They worked together on Scott’s worthwhile Opportunity Zone economic development strategy.

Scott has somehow avoided angering the former president and that’s not easy. 

Scott once castigated Trump for being racially insensitive and that the Charlottesville rally in 2017 “compromised Trump’s moral authority to lead,” but that’s the extent of Scott’s criticism, and he didn’t really provoke Trump’s ire.

Scott, as an African-American, could attract more black voters for Trump. Trump won eight percent of the African-American vote in 2020 and that was better than the six percent he attracted in 2016. If Trump could up that to 10 percent with Scott, he could steal even more votes from Democrats.  

Scott is a Reaganesque and optimistic “big tent” Conservative. Scott has a sunny demeanor and even prays for people who have criticized him. (Full disclosure: I used to be on Senator Scott’s staff, so I know this.)

Scott has a career ‘90’ rating from the American Conservative Union and he has received three awards from the rightist non-profit. 

Governor Nikki Haley

Nikki Haley would be another solid choice, should she drop out of the presidential race.

Haley is running an excellent campaign so far. Haley also has foreign policy experience and a passion for international affairs that would serve her well as VP. But let’s not count Haley out of the presidential race yet.

Trump and the Republican Party have struggled to attract women voters to their cause, especially single, college-educated, and suburban women. Biden won 57 percent of the female vote against Trump in 2020. Haley could make a better case to women who would not normally vote Republican. She happens to be a minority and could tell her story of American opportunity and freedom that could resonate with voters.

But can Haley and Trump put a bitter campaign behind them? If Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton did, so can they. But would MAGA accept Haley? 

Governor Kristi Noem

Another female candidate who could help Trump perform better is South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem.

Noem is fiery and willing to be a hardliner, but could also moderate her tone and appeal to centrists when needed. However, she is from a small state and has not built a national following. Her name recognition is not quite there yet either. 

Noem has already said she will support Trump in the primary. Noem also led her state with confidence and defiance during the Covid-19 pandemic. This will endear her to conservatives because she never gave the order for a church or business to close and mandated no public lockdowns.

However, Noem has said she would be “shocked” to be Trump’s running mate.

Donald Trump Could Do the Unthinkable.

Donald Trump could conceivably win the Republican primary but lose to President Joe Biden again in the general election. Would he then finally concede to Biden and give up his quest to return to the White House?

Donald Trump is indeed running in 2024. But what if he runs and loses and won't admit that he lost?  Former President Donald Trump has been criticized for losing three elections in a row – the 2018 Midterms, the 2020 presidential, and now, as symbolic head of the GOP, the 2022 midterms.

Despite these struggles, he is running again for president.

Trump could conceivably win the Republican primary but lose to President Joe Biden again in the general election. Would he then finally concede to Biden and give up his quest to return to the White House?

We know Donald Trump is a sore loser and has refused to accept his loss to Biden in 2020, even though he did promise an orderly transition of power in January of 2021 without ever mentioning Joe Biden by name. America is known for its peaceful transition of power after presidential elections.

Still, the insurrection on January 6, 2021, showed the world that even in the United States there can be a violent struggle after voting ends.

Could Donald Trump Be Banned From Running?

Democrats want to use the 14th Amendment to the Constitution to ban Trump from running again should he be successfully prosecuted for his actions to start or his lack of action to stop the January 6 riots.

House Democrats even introduced legislation to prevent Trump from running for President.

Section 3 of the 14th Amendment says office holders who have taken an oath to support the Constitution and who have engaged in “insurrection or rebellion” should not “hold any office, civil or military, under the United States.” This was of course written for the prevention of another civil war and not for riots, but it still shows that many people in the country believe that Trump should not be allowed to run for president again.

Trump is ignoring these threats and claiming they are another example of a “witch hunt” against him.

Republicans are divided. Some think this is more of the same “Trump derangement syndrome” exhibited by Democrats who will stop at nothing to get even with the president and kill his political career. Other Republicans see that it is time to move on from Trump and elect someone who has no legal baggage to contend with.

Would Donald Trump Concede?

So, let’s say that Trump wins the Republican nomination over his strongest hypothetical challenger. That would lead to the rematch against Biden. Should Trump lose again, would he peacefully concede?

One way to ensure this is to have an electoral reform body such as the Issue One nonprofit force Trump to agree to a promise that he would concede after the election should he lose the electoral college.

During the presidential debates and even during the debates for the GOP nomination, Trump is likely to get this question: “Will you concede if you lose?” This is a critical query for the former president.

If he says no, he will likely lose support from independents. If he says yes, he may be forced to give up an option for legal challenges to the outcome.

No More Sore Losers

People are tired of sore losers, especially at the presidential level. They do not want a repeat of January 6 and are suspicious of election deniers. This was evident during the 2022 elections, in which people who supported Trump’s version of election fraud and wrongdoing lost their own bids.

Trump will have to answer the question of whether he will concede if he loses and show the country that he is a candidate who exhibits good sportsmanship, a quality that few associate with the former president.