- In November, former President Donald Trump officially began his third run for the White House.
- He made the first big announcement of a 2024 Republican presidential run.
- Though he has the most endorsements of any Republican candidate, his support comes from just a minority of elected officials.
In November, former President Donald Trump officially launched his second presidential run. Though he has more endorsements than anybody else at the moment, many Republicans are still choosing to sit on the sidelines.
While Trump faces criminal accusations in New York, 11 senators and almost 70 representatives have indicated their support for his 2024 presidential run as of Wednesday, October 18. The former president has also received the support of four governors.
Donald Trump was the first big Republican to declare his campaign for president in 2024, but his party as a whole has yet to rally behind him. The vast majority of sitting Republicans have said that they are waiting to see who else joins the race before making up their minds.
Trump’s presidency saw him have a firm hold on the Republican Party. His capacity to sway Republican primary voters and seek revenge on his intraparty rivals has been on display even after his tenure is up and his followers launch an unprecedented attack on the US Capitol on January 6, 2021.
Some people believe that Trump’s influence is dwindling because of the Republican Party’s lackluster performance in the midterm elections. The GOP gained just a few of seats in the House while the Democrats kept their Senate majority.
“Many of Trump’s supporters and supporters from the past are still standing by him.”
Notable Republicans who have publicly endorsed Trump for president in 2024 include as follows:
That’s four governors
- Mike Dunleavy: On August 31, Alaska Governor Mike Dunleavy backed Trump, calling him the “best president for this state in its short history.”
- Jim Justice: Despite being indicted in Manhattan in April, West Virginia’s Democratic governor, Jim Justice, tweeted his support for Trump.
- Henry McMaster, governor of South Carolina, was unveiled as a member of Trump’s campaign leadership team during an event in Columbia on January 28. He said the nation would “see a burst of freedom and prosperity unlike any we have ever seen before” if Trump were re-elected.
- Kristi Noem: At a rally in South Dakota, Governor Kristi Noem, who is running for vice president, backed her predecessor.
Eleven senators
- Mike Braun: According to Indiana senator and gubernatorial candidate Mike Braun, who gave an interview on Fox News in September, Trump is the “candidate capable of returning us to the America First policies that delivered unmatched prosperity and security for the American people.”
- After Trump’s April meeting with Tennessee Republicans, Marsha Blackburn, a senator from Tennessee, backed him.
- Ted Budd — after winning his North Carolina US Senate seat with Trump’s backing, Budd endorsed Trump in April.
- Steve Daines — the Montana senator, who also serves as the head of Senate Republicans’ campaign arm, endorsed Trump in an appearance on Donald Trump Jr.’s podcast in April.
- Lindsey Graham — the long-serving South Carolina senator has formed a close relationship with Trump over the years, becoming one of his leading allies in Congress. “I know the downside of Trump, but let me tell you about the upside of Trump: there are no Trump policies without Trump,” Graham told Fox News in January, touting Trump’s achievements.
- Bill Hagerty — the Tennessee senator, who previously served as US Ambassador to Japan under Trump, offered his “wholehearted endorsement” to the former president in April.
- Cindy Hyde-Smith — the freshman Mississippi senator announced her support for Trump in April, saying he was “attentive to the needs” of her state as president.
- Markwayne Mullin — the Oklahoma freshman announced in February on Truth Social that he’s “proud to endorse the strongest president of my lifetime, Donald J. Trump, for a second term in 2024.”
- Eric Schmitt — the newly elected senator told Politico in January he’s backing the former president in 2024, who also endorsed Schmitt in Missouri’s GOP primary last year.
- Tommy Tuberville — the Alabama senator endorsed Trump in a tweet just days after he launched his 2024 bid, becoming the first Republican senator to do so. Tuberville, a former Auburn University head football coach, later told Insider that Trump’s “leadership role experience” was especially important to him.
- JD Vance — the freshman senator and author of the bestselling book “Hillbilly Elegy,” who secured Trump’s endorsement in last year’s Ohio GOP primary, declared his support for the former president in an op-ed in the Wall Street Journal on January 31, praising his foreign policy record.
77 House members
Robert Aderholt — the Alabama congressman endorsed Trump in early August.
Brian Babin — the Texas congressman was named as part of the Trump campaign’s Texas leadership team in March.
Troy Balderson — the Ohio congressman endorsed Trump on August 1, citing his “commanding lead among Ohio voters.”
Jim Banks — Banks told The New York Times that he supported Trump following the GOP’s underperformance in the midterm elections. Trump in February endorsed Banks’ 2024 bid to become Indiana’s next senator.
Andy Biggs — the former House Freedom Caucus chairman tweeted his support for Trump the day he announced, writing: “President Trump is the leader of the Republican Party. Let’s Make America Great Again.”
Gus Bilirakis — the Florida congressman endorsed Trump in April, though he said that Florida “boasts two trailblazers of unabashed, bold leadership” in an allusion to DeSantis.
Mike Bost — the Illinois congressman offered his “full endorsement” for Trump via tweet in February.
Lauren Boebert — the far-right Colorado congresswoman said on NewsNation that “of course” she endorses Trump and thinks it’s “going to be a fantastic race.”
Jack Bergman — the Michigan congressman endorsed Trump in July as part of the roll-out of Trump’s leadership team in the state.
Josh Brecheen — the freshman Oklahoma congressman endorsed Trump on May 1.
Vern Buchanan — the Florida congressman endorsed Trump in April, saying the former president has “done it before and will do it again.”
Michael Burgess — the Texas congressman endorsed Trump in March after being named to the former president’s campaign’s Texas leadership team.
Mike Carey — the Ohio congressman endorsed Trump on Twitter the day after he announced his 2024 bid.
Jerry Carl — the Alabama congressman endorsed Trump in early August.
John Carter — the Texas congressman was named as part of the Trump campaign’s Texas leadership team in March.
Andrew Clyde — the Georgia congressman endorsed Trump in June.
Mike Collins — the first-term Georgia congressman endorsed Trump in June.
Eli Crane — the Arizona freshman tweeted his support for Trump’s 2024 bid the night of his announcement.
Byron Donalds — the Florida congressman endorsed Trump in April, saying there’s “only one leader at this time in our nation’s history who can seize this moment and deliver what we need.”
Pat Fallon — the Texas congressman was named as part of the Trump campaign’s Texas leadership team in March.
Chuck Fleischmann — the Tennessee congressman told a local paper that Trump will get the GOP nomination “with relative ease” and that Fleischmann’s “support will be there” for the former president.
Russell Fry — the South Carolina congressman, who defeated a Republican congressman who had voted to impeach Trump, is a member of Trump’s campaign “leadership team” in the state.
Matt Gaetz — the Florida lawmaker has long supported a Trump comeback bid, even before he officially announced in November. “There’s so many more accomplishments left for us to achieve if we elect Donald Trump back to the White House,” Gaetz wrote in a Daily Caller op-ed in November.
Carlos Gimenez — the Florida congressman endorsed Trump in April.
Lance Gooden — the Texas congressman endorsed Trump right after meeting with DeSantis, saying the governor has “done commendable work in Florida” but that the former president is the “only leader who can save America.”
Paul Gosar — the Arizona conservative tweeted Trump’s Make America Great Again campaign slogan the night he launched his campaign.
Tony Gonzales — the Texas congressman said on Twitter the day of Trump’s announcement that he looks “forward to President Trump once again righting the ship.”
Mark Green — the Tennessee congressman, who chairs the House Committee on Homeland Security, was announced as a member of “Trump’s Tennessee Federal Leadership Team.”
Marjorie Taylor Greene — the conservative firebrand from Georgia has been one of Trump’s staunchest supporters in Congress. She endorsed the former president the same day he announced his bid.
Diana Harshbarger — the Tennessee congresswoman endorsed Trump in April, saying he has a “proven track record of delivering results.”
Harriet Hageman — the Wyoming congresswoman, who defeated former Rep. Liz Cheney with the backing of Trump and much of the rest of the GOP, told Breitbart that she was “proud to stand with” Trump in 2024.
Clay Higgins — the Louisiana lawmaker tweeted in November that he was backing Trump “out of the gate.” He later told Insider that Trump was the best president “we’ve ever had in my lifetime.”
Richard Hudson — the chairman of the House GOP campaign arm told a local outlet in November that he supports Trump in 2024 but if “someone beats him in the primary I’ll support them.”
Bill Huizenga — the Michigan congressman endorsed Trump in July as part of the roll-out of Trump’s leadership team in the state.
Wesley Hunt — the Texas freshman has also backed Trump for 2024, according to The Texas Tribune.
Ronny Jackson — the Texas lawmaker, the former White House physician famous for rosy assessments of the president’s health and “incredible genes,” endorsed his ex-patient days after the November announcement. “I don’t need to see any more,” he told Insider in December. “I know Trump knows what needs to be done.”
John James — the Michigan congressman endorsed Trump in July as part of the roll-out of Trump’s leadership team in the state.
Bill Johnson — the Ohio congressman endorsed Trump on August 1.
Jim Jordan — the Ohio congressman, currently the chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, told Breitbart even before Trump officially announced his campaign that the former president is the “right candidate” for 2024.
John Joyce — the Pennsylvania congressman was announced as a member of Trump’s Pennsylvania leadership team in June 2023.
Mike Kelly — the Pennsylvania congressman was announced as a member of Trump’s Pennsylvania leadership team in June 2023.
Anna Paulina Luna — the freshman Florida lawmaker told POLITICO in March that she’s backing Trump over her home-state governor, Ron DeSantis.
Brian Mast — the Florida congressman endorsed Trump in April, telling CNN he also plans to chair “Veterans for Trump.”
Lisa McClain — the Michigan congresswoman endorsed Trump in June.
Dan Meuser — the Pennsylvania congressman was announced as a member of Trump’s Pennsylvania leadership team in June 2023.
Carol Miller — the West Virginia congresswoman declared that “of course” she supported Trump’s re-election campaign in a local radio interview in August.
Mary Miller — the second-term congresswoman from Illinois tweeted her support for Trump the night of his campaign launch.
Max Miller — the freshman Ohio congressman, who used to work in the Trump White House, endorsed the former president the night of his announcement and said he “wouldn’t be here without his support.”
Cory Mills — the Florida congressman and former arms dealer endorsed Trump in April, telling TIME that the former president’s indictment in Manhattan was a “very unifying event.”
John Moolenar — the Michigan congressman endorsed Trump in July as part of the roll-out of Trump’s leadership team in the state.
Alex Mooney — the West Virginia congressman told a local news outlet in November that he supports Trump “100%” and that “his conservative policies are what we need for this country.”
Barry Moore — the Alabama congressman endorsed Trump in a radio interview in December, citing the former president’s “experience level.”
Troy Nehls — another Texas lawmaker, Nehls traveled to Mar-a-Lago for Trump’s November announcement, later telling Insider: “We’re not electing the Pope.”
Andy Ogles — the Tennessee congressman endorsed Trump in May, saying he’s the “leader we need to get America back on track.”
Burgess Owens — the Utah congressman endorsed Trump in August, telling the Daily Caller that the former president helped the Black community “more than any president in my lifetime.”
Gary Palmer — the Alabama congressman endorsed Trump in early August.
Scott Perry — the Pennsylvania congressman was announced as a member of Trump’s Pennsylvania leadership team in June 2023.
Bill Posey — the Florida congressman endorsed Trump in September.
Guy Reschenthaler — the Pennsylvania congressman endorsed Trump in June, telling the Philadelphia Inquirer that he’d like to see the former president be the party’s nominee in 2024.
Mike Rogers — the Alabama congressman endorsed Trump in early August.
John Rose — the Tennessee congressman endorsed Trump in April, saying the former President has a “track record we can trust.”
Matt Rosendale — the Montana congressman and potential 2024 Senate candidate endorsed Trump in October.
John Rutherford — the Florida congressman endorsed Trump in April, saying the former president is the “right person” to “restore Law, Order, and Justice to our country.”
George Santos — the scandal-plagued freshman of New York declared on Twitter in February that Trump “will be the 47th POTUS.”
Pete Sessions — the Texas congressman was named as part of the Trump campaign’s Texas leadership team in March.
Elise Stefanik — the No. 3 House Republican endorsed Trump days before his widely expected 2024 announcement in November.
Greg Steube — the Florida congressman endorsed Trump in April, saying on Newsmax that DeSantis should “concentrate on the great job that he’s doing” as Florida’s governor.
Dale Strong — the freshman Alabama congressman endorsed Trump in a Facebook post in November 2022.
William Timmons — the South Carolina congressman joined Trump for his South Carolina leadership team announcement.
Jeff Van Drew — the New Jersey congressman, who switched parties during Trump’s first impeachment, endorsed the former president shortly after his run, telling a local outlet that he’s a “loyal guy.”
Beth Van Duyne — the Texas congresswoman was named as part of the Trump campaign’s Texas leadership team in March.
Tim Walberg — the Michigan congressman endorsed Trump in July as part of the roll-out of Trump’s leadership team in the state.
Mike Waltz — the Florida congressman, who represents the district once held by DeSantis, endorsed Trump in April, saying on Twitter that the country needs “bold and experienced leadership.”
Randy Weber — the Texas congressman was named as part of the Trump campaign’s Texas leadership team in March.
Daniel Webster — the Florida congressman told POLITICO the day after DeSantis officially announced his campaign that he’s endorsing Trump.
Roger Williams — the Texas congressman endorsed Trump in March after being named to the former president’s campaign’s Texas leadership team.
Joe Wilson — the South Carolina congressman was also named to Trump’s 2024 South Carolina leadership team.