Sen. Tom Cotton (R-AR) will not be running for president during the 2024 election cycle, further paving the way for a Donald Trump ticket.
A source close to Cotton confirmed to Breitbart News that he will not run for president in 2024. The decision comes after he has reached out to donors and senior Republican officials over the past week to inform him of his 2024 plans.
According to Politico, Cotton has based the decision on “family concerns, saying that a national campaign would take him away from his two young sons, who are seven and five years old.” For the past year, Cotton has at least signaled a willingness to run in 2024 based on his maneuvers throughout the midterm season. Per Politico:
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 strongly signaled a 2024 run, with reports indicating that he could announce his candidacy shortly after the midterm election. Whether or not the former president will be running in the primary unopposed remains unknown at this time, but he would likely face at least one primary challenge from a fierce critic such as soon-t0-be former 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. 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.”
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