A dark-horse contender has emerged as a potential running mate to help give a jolt to Donald Trump's doddering campaign.
The former president and his inner circle have been bandying about the names of potential vice presidential picks, and so far all of the favorites have been women -- Reps. Elise Stefanik (R-NY) and Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) have emerged as favorites, but former Democratic congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard has caught Trump's eye filling in for Fox News host Tucker Carlson, sources have told The Daily Beast.
“You have to think about how you win suburban women and how you win battleground districts,” said one Republican operative, who added that it's no accident that Trump is only considering women as his running mate.
Trump allies have also discussed South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem and failed Arizona gubernatorial candidate Kari Lake, the GOP strategist said, but they haven't generated as much excitement as Gabbard, Stefanik or Greene -- although some advisers worry the ascendant Georgia Republican might outshine the former president.
“She’s been characterized as Trump in heels,” a Trumpworld source told The Beast, adding that Greene and Trump speak "all the time." “Her style is just like Trump."
Trump won't pick another establishment Republican like Mike Pence, which probably rules out Nikki Haley, but the GOP strategist warned that Greene might be a liability in a general election.
“You don’t need MAGA — he’s MAGA,” the strategist said. “You need someone who is loyal, someone who can fundraise, and someone who can help you win swing states.”
That's why some are pushing Gabbard, who ran in the Democratic presidential primary in 2020, as an option to younger or independent voters who see themselves as "post-partisan."
“Me, speaking personally, I’d love to see her at the top of the ticket,” said Gabbard friend Eric Jackman, one of her earliest 2020 campaign surrogates in New Hampshire. “But if it meant her at the top of the ticket with another Republican — yeah, you know, my experience is people who are Tulsi Gabbard supporters are very past partisan politics, they don’t like partisanship, they don’t like to be pinned down by a label.”