Tom Cotton has decided not to run for president in 2024. He is the first big-name Republican to drop out as former President Donald Trump and others move toward running.
Two people who know what the senator is thinking to say that he has been telling donors, supporters, and senior Republicans about his plans over the last few days. Cotton said he decided because he wanted to spend time with his two young sons, who are 7 and 5 years old. He said that a national campaign would take him away from them.
The decision made by Cotton ushers in a pivotal phase of the campaign cycle for the presidential election of 2024. After this week’s midterm elections, potential candidates, such as President Trump, some of his Cabinet officials, and prominent Republican governors and senators, are going to face more urgent questions about whether or not they will enter the race for president. These potential candidates have spent the last two years preparing for the race.
Until last week, Cotton was one of the candidates considering a run for president at the national level. He has spent a significant portion of the past two years working for Republican midterm candidates across the country, mainly focusing on local contests as an opportunity to get his name out there and meet voters.
He has made multiple trips to Iowa and New Hampshire, the sites of the first two presidential nominating contests for the party. In addition, he was successful in raising $8 million, which would have been an excellent start for a presidential campaign account.
Cotton also increased his national image by publishing a book on military history. Most recently, he has expanded his political operation by transferring one of his senior aides, Brian Colas, from his office in the Senate to a position with the political action committee that he heads. Cotton also extended invitations to the top donors in his campaign to attend a post-midterm fundraising retreat at the Salamander Resort & Spa in Middleburg, Virginia. This retreat was considered a forerunner to the launch of a national campaign.
Cotton’s enthusiasm for the plan, though, began to wane over the course of the final few weeks. This week, he started calling his supporters to let them know that he wouldn’t be running for office, citing his worries for his family. On the other hand, Cotton made it abundantly plain that he would be open to serving in a future government led by a Republican president if given the opportunity.
When Donald Trump was in office, there was discussion about the possibility of nominating Cotton. This veteran served in both Afghanistan and Iraq, leading the CIA.
If Cotton had decided to run for president in 2024, he would have been up against a large field of other Republican candidates who were anxious to confront incumbent President Joe Biden. On the list of possible candidates are Donald Trump and Ron DeSantis, the governor of Florida, both of whom have significant national profiles.
But Cotton and his team had made the case to donors that early attention on some candidates was not decisive in previous presidential primaries. Instead, they said that performance in Iowa and New Hampshire — where Cotton was spending a considerable amount of time — ultimately mattered in the race for the nomination.
The remaining candidates in the Republican primary will soon be forced to make a difficult decision: whether or not to challenge Donald Trump, who is inching closer toward a comeback campaign for the presidency, or whether or not to withdraw from the race.
Some others, such as Chris Christie, the former governor of New Jersey, have stated that they will continue with their plans regardless of whether or not Donald Trump runs for president. Nikki Haley, a former ambassador to the United Nations, is one of the candidates, but she has stated that she would not run against the former president.
During a meeting with perhaps two dozen of his donors in June, Cotton stated that he would still run for office even if Trump decided to run for president. At the retreat, which was hosted at the Hay-Adams hotel in the heart of downtown Washington, the senator, who is 45 years old, detailed the things he had done to get ready for a campaign and stated that he was prepared to run for office.
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