The list of rivals to Donald Trump for the 2024 GOP nomination grows as conservative radio talk show host and former California gubernatorial candidate Larry Elder jumps into the race for the White House.
Elder on Thursday announced his candidacy for president in an interview on Fox News’ “Tucker Carlson Tonight.”
Elder’s overall message aims to reach a balance between optimism and pessimism: “America is in decline, but this decline is not inevitable. We can enter a new American Golden Age, but we must choose a leader who can bring us there. That’s why I’m running for President,” Elder wrote in an accompanying statement.
A longtime conservative commentator and popular nationally syndicated radio host, Elder was one of the candidates who challenged Gavin Newsom in California’s gubernatorial recall election in September 2021. The Democratic governor survived the recall but Elder raised his political visibility as a result of that challenge.
The former attorney and author had been hinting at a White House run for months, saying on numerous occasions that he was “very likely going to run for president,” with an announcement coming in the early spring.
Elder, who is Black, has outlined a number of issues that he will run on in the 2024 election–principally, inflation, energy, and border security. But he’s also emphasized that he wants to highlight the plight of children in America being born to parents who are not married and to target what he argues is “this lie about systemic racism.”
Democratic National Committee chair Jaime Harrison, in a statement, argued that “when Larry Elder isn’t busy cozying up to Donald Trump or parroting conspiracy theories, he’s laying out an extreme agenda that doubles down on abortion bans. Elder is so extreme he even suggested abolishing Medicare entirely.”
Elder joins a 2024 field of contenders that is promising to become crowded. As of now Trump, who announced his third White House run in November, remains the clear front-runner in the latest GOP presidential nomination polls. Among the others, former ambassador to the United Nations and former two-term South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley launched her presidential campaign in February, as did multi-millionaire entrepreneur, best-selling author and conservative commentator Vivek Ramaswamy.
Two-term Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis remains on the 2024 sidelines, but that appears to be simply a formality as he is widely expected to enter the race after the Florida legislative session concludes next month. Former Vice President Mike Pence has said he’ll make 2024 announcement in the coming weeks.
Sen. Tim Scott of South Carolina recently launched a presidential exploratory committee. And former two-term Gov. Asa Hutchinson of Arkansas is scheduled to declare his candidacy for president next week in his home state.
Meanwhile, New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu and former two-term Gov. Chris Christie of New Jersey are among others seriously mulling GOP presidential bids.
