Sen. Tom Cotton (R-AR) has decided not to run for president in the 2024 election cycle, which would help Donald Trump’s campaign even more, according to a report by Breitbart News.
Breitbart News has confirmation from a source close to Cotton that he won’t be a candidate for president in 2024. He made the choice after communicating his 2024 plans to fundraisers and other Republican officials over the course of the previous week.
Cotton has reportedly based his choice on “family reasons, claiming that a national campaign would pull him away from his two young sons, who are seven and five years old,” according to Politico.
Based on his actions throughout the midterm election season, Cotton has at least shown a willingness to run in 2024 for the past year. Politico claims:
Cotton’s decision kicks off a critical period in the 2024 presidential election cycle. After this week’s midterm election, potential candidates — including Trump, some of his Cabinet officials and prominent Republican governors and senators — are set to face more urgent questions about whether they will enter the race after spending the last two years making preparations.
Until this week, Cotton was one of those looking at a national campaign. He has spent much of the last two years campaigning across the country for Republican midterm candidates, using local races as an opportunity to introduce himself to voters.
He has taken a series of trips to Iowa and New Hampshire, which host the party’s first two presidential nominating contests. And he raised $8 million that could have seeded a presidential campaign account.
Former President Trump has made a solid case for running in 2024, and reports suggest that he would do so soon after the midterm elections.
At this moment, it is unknown if the former president will run unchallenged in the primary, but he would undoubtedly face at least one primary challenge from a fervent opponent like soon-to-be ex-Rep. Liz Cheney (R-WY).
“I think 2024 is going to be really important,” Cheney said in October. “It’s going to be crucial that we elect people that will defend the Constitution.
The outgoing lawmaker went on saying, “I haven’t made a decision yet about what I’m going to do. We have a lot of excellent candidates. We have a lot of bad candidates too. So, I’ll make a decision about that in the coming months.”
Announcements about upcoming races and candidacies are expected to come after Tuesday’s midterm elections.