Four Republicans may be angling to make a run at the White House in 2020, without consideration or care that President Donald Trump might run for a second term.
Sens. Tom Cotton of Arkansas and Ben Sasse of Nebraska, Ohio Gov. John Kasich and Vice President Mike Pence are reportedly cozying up to the Republicans most elite donors, conservative think tanks and interest groups and are meticulously crafting their public personas. All of these actions, The New York Times reports, is evidence of a Republican shadow campaign for the White House in the 2020 presidential election cycle.
Pence’s schedule is apparently so loaded up with political stops and events that it looks analogous to a second-term vice president who is looking to take over for his boss. The vice president has created his own political fundraising organization — Great America Committee — but has refused to acknowledge claims that it means he is making a bid for the White House.
The vice president has also kept up his relationship with Koch-affiliated organizations, visiting the 2017 Koch Seminar Network in Colorado the night before the conference kicked off. The meeting reportedly consisted of “good cordial discussions of issues” important to the network but was in no way to “push” or press the vice president on any policy agenda, President of Americans For Prosperity Tim Phillips told reporters. (RELATED: White House And Kochs Team Up On Tax Reform)
Pence’s press secretary called The New York Times assertion that the vice president is considering a bid for the presidency rather than dedicating his full energy to serving the president, “ridiculous.”
Claims @VP preparing for 2020 run are ridiculous #FakeNews and nothing more than wishful thinking by New York Times
Kasich, who ran against Trump in the 2016 cycle, has repeatedly declined to say that he will not run again in 2020 and has let some of his associates know he plans to run again. The Ohio governor plans to keep up his harsh critiques of the party’s failed attempt to repeal and replace Obamacare through hosting a series of policy forums in Ohio and around the nation.
Cotton is reportedly planning a $5,000-per-person fundraiser in New York in September. The Arkansas senator made waves when he visited Iowa in 2016, and has kept his name in the press ever since.
Sasse, a self-proclaimed independent thinking conservative, also has close ties to the Kochs. The senator, along with Pence, attended the Kochs seminar in Colorado in June. Sasse is also a well-known critic of the president and reportedly hosted an event for local GOP leaders in Iowa to discuss the problems on Capitol Hill and other policy issues.
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