Nearly all Republican senators bow out of 2024 race, while governors gear up

Ryan King

February 26, 03:48 PM February 26, 03:48 PM

As the 2024 race heats up, Republican senators have kept a wide berth from the presidential arena.

Despite the Senate being packed with ambitious, big-name politicians, Republicans in the upper chamber have been hesitant about going toe-to-toe with former President Donald Trump in a marked departure from past elections. Meanwhile, hoards of Republican governors are gearing up for a potential run.

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Back in the 2016 cycle, at least five of the 17 major Republicans served in the Senate at one point, including Sens. Marco Rubio (R-FL), Ted Cruz (R-TX), Rand Paul (R-KY), Lindsey Graham (R-SC), and Rick Santorum (R-PA), who is no longer a senator.

This time, however, virtually all of the top Republican senators have declined to run and have actively refrained from cultivating buzz about them running.

Multiple prominent Republicans, such as Cruz, Josh Hawley (R-MO), and Rick Scott (R-FL), are up for reelection in the Senate. The trio has maintained that they will stick to running for reelection rather than enter the 2024 presidential lions' den.

Some of those three, particularly Cruz, maintained an active profile in the 2022 election cycle, crisscrossing the country or headlining fundraisers on behalf of Republicans in the midterm elections.

Sen. Mitt Romney (R-UT), the 2012 Republican nominee who is also up for reelection and has been an unabashed critic of Trump, has been clear he has no intentions of running either. He also has not committed to vying for a second term in the upper chamber.

Even prominent Republicans who aren't up for reelection in the 2024 cycle, such as Sens. Tom Cotton (R-AK), Rubio, and Paul, have seemingly passed on a 2024 stint.

Perhaps the one major exception is Sen. Tim Scott (R-SC), who has embarked on a "Faith in America" listening tour that featured sessions in South Carolina and Iowa as he eyes an entrance into the 2024 fray.

This is a stark departure from most election cycles since 2000, in which Senators played a pronounced role in presidential primaries. Instead of Senators, the 2024 Republican season is shaping up to be rife with governors.

Trump's first major GOP primary challenge was former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley. His top speculated foe is Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R). Meanwhile, a bevy of current and former Republican governors, such as Chris Sununu (NH), Chris Christie (NJ), Asa Hutchinson (AK), Larry Hogan (MD), Glenn Youngkin (VA), and Kristie Noem (SD), are eyeing the 2024 field.

Former Vice President Mike Pence, who is mulling a run, also previously served as governor of Indiana.

Trump and DeSantis consistently dominate the polling of the 2024 GOP field, with no other candidates clinching double-digits, according to the latest RealClearPolitics polling aggregate.

SEE IT: Texas Gov. Abbott joins list of GOP governors banning TikTok on state devices

Julia Johnson

December 07, 04:55 PM December 07, 04:55 PM

Gov. Greg Abbott (R-TX) followed the lead Wednesday of Republican governors across the country who are banning the social media app TikTok.

"Every state agency in Texas shall ban its officers and employees from downloading or using TikTok on any of its government-issued devices," Abbott wrote in a letter to state agency heads. The ban is effective immediately.

"This TikTok ban extends to all state-issued cell phones, laptops, tablets, desktop computers, and other devices capable of internet connectivity, and it must be strictly enforced by your agency’s IT department," he added.

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"While TikTok has claimed that it stores U.S. data within the U.S., the company admitted in a letter to Congress that China-based employees can have access to that U.S. data," he noted. "Further, under China’s 2017 National Intelligence Law, all businesses are required to assist China in intelligence work, including data sharing, and TikTok’s algorithm has already censored topics politically sensitive to the Chinese Communist Party, including the Tiananmen Square protests."

The governor also signaled that he stands ready to sign and implement legislation that cements this directive into law.

Further, Abbott asked the Texas Department of Public Safety and the Texas Department of Information Resources to design a plan for state agencies regarding the use of TikTok on personal devices.

Per the governor, the plan must address the use of the app on personal devices that have remote access to government accounts, the identification of sensitive locations, meetings, and agency personnel that could be exposed by TikTok-enabled personal devices, network-based restrictions that could prevent TikTok use on personal devices while on agency property, and whether other apps, services, hardware, or software should be considered for inclusion in the plan.

Last week, Gov. Kristi Noem (R-SD) set off a domino effect when she issued an executive order banning TikTok on state-owned or leased devices. Following her lead, Gov. Henry McMaster (R-SC) issued a directive Monday asking his state's Department of Administration to remove the application from state-owned devices permanently.

On Tuesday, outgoing Gov. Larry Hogan (R-MD) sent out a similar directive, ordering the removal of TikTok from state-owned or managed technology assets.