Senator Tom Cotton (R., Ark.) will not be running for the Republican Party’s 2024 presidential nomination.
Cotton has been calling donors and friends to let them know he won’t be running, Politico first reported, making him the first prominent Republican to step aside in a race that increasingly looks like it will pit former president Donald Trump against Florida governor Ron DeSantis.
Cotton, who has two young sons, reportedly cited family concerns in making the decision not to run.
Multiple outlets reported last week that Trump is slated to announce his intention to run for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination less than a week after the midterm elections, on November 14. Key Trump allies have reportedly blocked off several calendar days in anticipation of the imminent announcement and any political campaigning it might entail.
“In order to make our country successful and safe and glorious, I will very, very, very probably do it again…Get ready that’s all I’m telling you—very soon. Get ready,” Trump told a crowd during a rally Thursday night in Sioux City, Iowa.
Trump will likely seek to piggyback off of the momentum if Republicans win big Tuesday and beat his unofficial sparring partner, DeSantis, to the punch in announcing his candidacy.
Pot shots have already been taken.
During a stump speech for Pennsylvania’s Republican Senate candidate Mehmet Oz Saturday, Trump called DeSantis “Ron DeSanctimonious” while claiming that he was polling way ahead of both the Florida governor and his former vice president, Mike Pence.
Cotton’s withdrawal will allow him to bide his time for a potential 2028 run. The Arkansas Republican has continued to build name recognition in recent years.
In 2021, Cotton penned an opinion piece in the New York Times advocating for sending federal troops to restore order to cities engulfed by violent protests. The article led to an internal revolt and the resignation of the opinion page editor
More recently, Cotton — who is a veteran of Iraq and Afghanistan — wrote a book condemning the “Left’s Plot to Sabotage American Power” while outlining his vision for reversing the trend.
Cotton has stated his interest in being involved in forthcoming Republican administrations, with some seeing him as a potential favorite as Trump’s CIA director.