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Former president Donald Trump remains the frontrunner in a shrinking field of Republicans vying to become their party’s presidential nominee in the general election in November.
Here is a rundown of the leading Republican hopefuls, along with several long-shot candidates.
Candidates who have dropped out
Mike Pence
FORMER VICE-PRESIDENT
Pence, 64, was a loyal second-in-command to Trump during his four years in the White House. But Pence famously broke with his boss on January 6 2021, when he refused to bend to Trump’s demands that he block the certification of Biden’s electoral college victory.
Pence’s break with Trump cost him considerable support among Republican grassroots voters, and the former governor of Indiana and congressman dropped his presidential bid in October.
Tim Scott
US SENATOR FROM SOUTH CAROLINA
Scott, 58, is the only black Republican in the US Senate and the top Republican on the Senate banking committee. A formidable fundraiser, he is popular with the party’s donor class and noted for his efforts to advance bipartisan legislation on Capitol Hill. Like Pence, Scott centred his message on fiscal and social conservatism, but failed to win over voters and suspended his campaign in November.
Doug Burgum
Governor of North Dakota
Burgum, 67, was a political novice when he first ran for governor of North Dakota in 2016. Eight years later, Burgum — who sold a software company he founded to Microsoft for more than $1bn in 2001 — entered the presidential race with little national name recognition but the deep pockets required to run a major campaign. But he made little impact with voters and abandoned his effort in early December.
Photographs: AP/AFP/Getty Images/Reuters
