GOP faces 2016 redux as big names explore 2024 challenge to Trump

Despite a lukewarm-at-best response to former President Donald Trump announcing another White House run last week, Republicans could find themselves in a repeat of 2016 — with a crowded field in the 2024 presidential primary enabling the 45th president to reclaim the nomination with only a plurality of support.

Trump, 76, was one of 16 candidates who sought the GOP nod in 2016, outlasting his competition despite only securing around 45% of the popular primary vote.

Around a dozen would-be candidates — including former Trump loyalists like Nikki Haley — pitched themselves over the weekend at the annual meeting of the Republican Jewish Coalition in Las Vegas.

Haley, who was the ambassador to the United Nations under Trump, has previously said she would not compete against her former boss if he ran. Now, with GOP voters and mega-donors seemingly moving away from the former president after his chosen candidates flopped in the midterm elections, she has followed suit. 

“I’ve never lost an election, and I’m not going to start now,” Haley told an excited crowd.