When you think of Donald Trump’s relationship with the Republican Party, some of the first words that may come to mind are “insurgent” and “anti-establishment.” After all, the businessman and former reality television star was able to win the 2016 nomination with little backing from GOP members of Congress and governors.
But that was then, and the landscape today – less than a month from the 2024 Iowa caucuses – is very different. Trump isn’t an insurgent any longer.
In fact, a look at the data reveals that Trump now is the establishment.
Consider the endorsement race. This past week, New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu backed Nikki Haley in a potential boost to her candidacy in Republicans’ first primary state. Ron DeSantis welcomed similar news last month when Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds endorsed him.
These were, however, exceptions to the rule.
About 100 members of Congress and governors have backed Trump. House Speaker Mike Johnson has endorsed the former president, and his predecessor Kevin McCarthy has said he’ll support Trump.
Since 1980, only two Republican presidential candidates in a primary without an incumbent have had more endorsements at this point: Bob Dole in 1996 and George W. Bush in 2000. Both of them were creatures of the establishment, with Dole a former – and future – Senate majority leader at the time and Bush a well-liked governor and son of a former president.
Trump is doing considerably better in endorsements than the two most recent other GOP nominees before him (John McCain and Mitt Romney). That’s notable because both men were part of the GOP establishment that tried to stop Trump in the past and whom Trump has attacked.
For 2024, neither DeSantis nor Haley are anywhere close to Trump in the endorsement race. DeSantis has only about a combined seven governors and members…
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