# Who'll be the GOP presidential candidate in 2020? **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Created:** [October 29, 2016, 8:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wholl-be-the-gop-presidential-candidate-in-2020/770057 "2016-10-29T20:03:34Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![BobLibDem](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/boblibdem/32/3149_2.png) [@BobLibDem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobLibDem)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2016, 12:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wholl-be-the-gop-presidential-candidate-in-2020/770057/21 "2016-10-30T12:53:01Z")
I’m thinking the raw red meat eating Republican base will settle for nothing less than Ted Cruz. Running against an incumbent Hillary will be no easy task. ---
**Author:** ![Baker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bb73d2/32.png) [@Baker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baker)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2016, 2:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wholl-be-the-gop-presidential-candidate-in-2020/770057/22 "2016-10-30T14:20:13Z")
> [@adaher](#): > > Brownback is an utter failure. That would be a truly tragic choice. I like hearing that!😛 I think I’m going to have to bookmark this thread so that in four years or so I can come back and see how close our ideas were. ---
**Author:** ![marshmallow](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/df705f/32.png) [@marshmallow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/marshmallow)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2016, 3:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wholl-be-the-gop-presidential-candidate-in-2020/770057/23 "2016-10-30T15:27:35Z")
I’m still holding out for [the shrieking white-hot sphere of pure rage.](https://youtu.be/jjonGtrCyVE) ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2016, 4:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wholl-be-the-gop-presidential-candidate-in-2020/770057/24 "2016-10-30T16:20:14Z")
> [@kopek](#): > > My guess is the opposite; recycle one of the also-rans from this time around. Normally, that’s a good bet with the Republicans. But I think we’re going to see more of a “let us never speak of this again” attitude towards this election. In 2020, they’ll be looking for somebody who doesn’t remind voters of 2016. > [@aag3981](#): > > There are lots of Republicans eyeing Pence. Based on what I wrote above, the least likely choice after Trump himself. ---
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2016, 7:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wholl-be-the-gop-presidential-candidate-in-2020/770057/25 "2016-10-30T19:28:55Z")
> [@marshmallow](#): > > I’m still holding out for [the shrieking white-hot sphere of pure rage.](https://youtu.be/jjonGtrCyVE) You mean Trump wasn’t close enough for you? :eek: 😛 ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2016, 7:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wholl-be-the-gop-presidential-candidate-in-2020/770057/26 "2016-10-30T19:58:27Z")
Actually, I should amend my previous answer, as there are actually five possibilities. In the event that the Republicans win this year, then the 2020 nominee will be Pence, running as the incumbent. Though this situation is unlikely, it’s still possible, far too much so for my liking. ---
**Author:** ![Kyrie\_Eleison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kyrie_eleison/32/7682_2.png) [@Kyrie\_Eleison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kyrie_Eleison)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2016, 9:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wholl-be-the-gop-presidential-candidate-in-2020/770057/27 "2016-10-30T21:49:34Z")
Jim Comey might be looking for something to do. I’m going to go with him. ---
**Author:** ![Velocity](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/velocity/32/18006_2.png) [@Velocity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Velocity)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2016, 9:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wholl-be-the-gop-presidential-candidate-in-2020/770057/28 "2016-10-30T21:52:25Z")
Ben Sasse or Susana Martinez. ---
**Author:** ![Merneith](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/57b2e6/32.png) [@Merneith](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Merneith)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2016, 1:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wholl-be-the-gop-presidential-candidate-in-2020/770057/29 "2016-10-31T01:32:38Z")
> [@Tim\_R.Mortiss](#): > > You don’t think Trump will run for re-election? I think it will be Trump, unless his health fails him or he gets carted off, like Herbert Lom in the Pink Panther movies, sputtering about Inspector Hillary and her crazy escapes. ---
**Author:** ![Bullitt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bullitt/32/5725_2.png) [@Bullitt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bullitt)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2016, 1:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wholl-be-the-gop-presidential-candidate-in-2020/770057/30 "2016-10-31T01:54:19Z")
You guys are talking like this election is a foregone conclusion. ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2016, 2:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wholl-be-the-gop-presidential-candidate-in-2020/770057/31 "2016-10-31T02:01:09Z")
> [@Bullitt](#): > > You guys are talking like this election is a foregone conclusion. For one thing, it’s pretty close to being one. And, anyways, it’s not an interesting question if Trump gets elected, since of course he’d be the presumptive nominee, just like any other incumbent. Or, I guess, Pence if something happens to Trump. ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2016, 2:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wholl-be-the-gop-presidential-candidate-in-2020/770057/32 "2016-10-31T02:03:40Z")
I’m going to say Ted Cruz. ---
**Author:** ![Icarus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/icarus/32/72_2.png) [@Icarus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Icarus)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2016, 1:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wholl-be-the-gop-presidential-candidate-in-2020/770057/33 "2016-10-31T13:07:54Z")
I’m going with Tom Cotton. He’ll be able to harvest the Trump voters by repeating the same nonsense, but in a smooth way that will work for the more establishment Republicans. He’s got the fire-in-the-belly, and he’s already laying the groundwork by making speeches in Iowa. I believe Pence will be in the mix, but failed VP candidates don’t have a history of success. Cruz will definitely try again, but he’ll still be a niche candidate - one has to make appeals to ones party regulars to gather support across the country in order to be successful. He is still keeping himself isolated. ---
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2016, 1:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wholl-be-the-gop-presidential-candidate-in-2020/770057/34 "2016-10-31T13:26:48Z")
I wouldn’t at all be surprised if Trump, if elected, was impeached within four years. So - Pence. If Clinton wins now, at this early remove I’d say Pence, Rubio, Cotton and Sasse are good bets to run. Maybe Paul Ryan will give it another shot. Of those, Sasse seems to be the most likely to appeal to the base while also being the least likely to blow his own foot off. But Sasse is on the record calling Trump a “dumpster fire” of a candidate so really it depends on the state of the GOP vis-à-vis this round’s Trump supporters. If they’re still driving the party, it’ll probably be Alex Jones or a rabid wolverine or something similarly insane. ---
**Author:** ![Chimera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Chimera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chimera)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2016, 1:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wholl-be-the-gop-presidential-candidate-in-2020/770057/35 "2016-10-31T13:33:45Z")
Rabid Mongoose. Rabid Mongoose was born in Hawaii to naturalized parents, but the right is still not certain he is a Christian or a Conservative. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2016, 2:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wholl-be-the-gop-presidential-candidate-in-2020/770057/36 "2016-10-31T14:01:06Z")
> [@](#): > > Quoth **Gyrate** : > > I wouldn’t at all be surprised if Trump, if elected, was impeached within four years. So - Pence. Or resigns in anticipation of impeachment, like Nixon. Or resigns because he’s just tired of the job. Or dies of natural causes, which would be wholly unsurprising given his age and known poor health. Or gets assassinated. None of these strikes me as particularly unlikely, and I’d be very surprised indeed if, in the unlikely event of his election, none of them happened. ---
**Author:** ![Omar\_Little](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/omar_little/32/269_2.png) [@Omar\_Little](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omar_Little)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2016, 2:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wholl-be-the-gop-presidential-candidate-in-2020/770057/37 "2016-10-31T14:18:19Z")
Kanye West will switch parties and run with the GOP…hell it worked for Trump. ---
**Author:** ![Icarus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/icarus/32/72_2.png) [@Icarus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Icarus)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2016, 2:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wholl-be-the-gop-presidential-candidate-in-2020/770057/38 "2016-10-31T14:20:19Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > Or gets assassinated. By one of his Secret Service agents, due to how Trump treated his teen daughter at the White House holiday tree decorating party. ---
**Author:** ![Bullitt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bullitt/32/5725_2.png) [@Bullitt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bullitt)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2016, 2:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wholl-be-the-gop-presidential-candidate-in-2020/770057/39 "2016-10-31T14:31:46Z")
> [@BigT](#): > > And, anyways, it’s not an interesting question if Trump gets elected, since of course he’d be the presumptive nominee, just like any other incumbent. Yes, true enough. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2016, 2:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wholl-be-the-gop-presidential-candidate-in-2020/770057/40 "2016-10-31T14:36:49Z")
> [@Omar\_Little](#): > > Kanye West will switch parties and run with the GOP…hell it worked for Trump. All the polls are saying it hasn’t worked for Trump. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wholl-be-the-gop-presidential-candidate-in-2020/770057.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wholl-be-the-gop-presidential-candidate-in-2020/770057.md?page=3)