Cruz’s Top ’16 Aide Says Trump Will Be ’24 Nominee If He Runs – Business Insider

The GOP strategist who just helped a Republican win the Virginia governor's mansion expects a crowded primary field in 2024 but only if former President Donald Trump doesn't run.

"If Trump runs, Trump will be the nominee," said Jeff Roe, a veteran GOP operative who served as a top strategist on the Republican Glenn Youngkin's gubernatorial campaign in Virginia.

But if Trump opts out, Roe thinks Republicans from all over the political spectrum will consider hopping into the race, he said. Roe is in a position to know. The former manager of Ted Cruz's 2016 presidential campaign now runs Axiom Strategies, a consulting firm that represents GOP candidates all over the country.

"Gosh, if Biden runs for reelect," Roe expects many of his clients will think about running, he said.

"We have 14 senators, and we've elected 12 governors and have 107 members of Congress that are clients," Roe told Insider. "I think it's going to be wide open in '24 wide, wide open."

He expects the 2024 GOP hopefuls to break down into three buckets.

"Who's going to carry the Trump flag if he doesn't run the Trump agenda, who's the most conservative that might not be the same person and then who's the most electable?" he said. There is "no lane" for a Republican opposed to Trump, he added.

He expects a competitive field on the Democratic side, too, if Biden doesn't run.

"I think it's probably open on the Democrat side, and the Republican side, because I don't think Kamala has a lock on it at all. I think, in fact, she'd find herself in a pretty bad spot," he added.

Roe thought Harris "was pretty talented at the beginning," he said, but "she was just not a good candidate and has not been a very good VP in my estimation."

But Roe said he wasn't worried about the Democratic competition heading into 2024.

"A general election in the United States is a tough race, but it's still a center-right country," he added. "I think it's an eminently winnable race."

Immediately after Youngkin's upset win last week, political pundits started chattering about whether the Virginia governor-elect was on a fast track to the White House.

But Roe said he never spoke with Youngkin about a White House bid.

"I think the best way to get another job is do a great job with the job you have. And so I think that's what he'll focus on," Roe said. "He's 54 years old, so he's got a lot of years left and a lot of gas in the tank, and so he could do whatever he wants."

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Cruz's Top '16 Aide Says Trump Will Be '24 Nominee If He Runs - Business Insider