Over the past several months, there have been many rumors and speculation about who former President Donald Trump might pick as his running mate and vice presidential candidate in this year's election.
The front-running Republican candidate may have just conducted a sort of test and try-out over the past week in Iowa for some of the more prominent potential VP candidates, according to the Washington Examiner.
Several of Trump's prospective running mates were observed acting as campaign surrogates at events for the presumptive GOP nominee in the final days ahead of the Iowa Caucuses on Monday.
The Examiner reported that two top contenders to be former President Trump's vice presidential pick, South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem and Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA), played host at separate campaign events in Iowa this past week.
Two other likely contenders, Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders and former Arizona gubernatorial nominee Kari Lake, had also been scheduled to host events in Iowa that were ultimately canceled due to the impending winter storm.
Another close Trump ally who could be under consideration to be VP who campaigned on Trump's behalf in Iowa this past week is former Housing and Urban Development Sec. Ben Carson.
Of course, when asked by reporters about the possibility of being picked to be Trump's running mate, all of those potential candidates predictably demurred on the question even as they typically expressed how honored they would feel to be selected for that role.
In a Fox News town hall-style event in Iowa on Wednesday, former President Trump seemed to suggest that he had already decided who would be his vice presidential pick.
When asked who his 2024 running mate would be, Trump replied, "I can't tell you that really, I mean, I know who it's going to be," and when pressed to give a "hint" about the selection, the former president joked, "We'll do another show sometime."
The moderators asked if Trump's pick might be one of his primary rivals, but that only prompted additional humorous quips as the former president joked that it might be former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, a former close ally during the 2016 campaign who has since become an exceptionally bitter and sharply critical opponent.
According to a recent analysis from Spectrum News, based on past commentary and clues from former President Trump, the list of possible contenders to be his running mate has been narrowed down to eight potential picks.
That list included some of the potential candidates mentioned by the Examiner who did or planned to campaign on Trump's behalf in Iowa over the past week, including Govs. Noem and Sanders as well as Rep. Greene and Arizona's Lake.
Also making that list were outspoken House allies like Reps. Elise Stefanik (R-NY) and Byron Donalds (R-FL), along with Sen. Tim Scott (R-SC) and former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo.
As for the often prescient betting odds on who Trump might pick, Noem was the favorite but was followed close in second place by Stefanik, with the top five most likely contenders being filled out by GOP primary rivals Vivek Ramaswamy, former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley, and former Fox News host Tucker Carlson.
