Republican Sen. Josh Hawley of Missouri believes that former President Donald Trump will ultimately secure the GOP nomination for president. However, he has not yet made a full endorsement in the primary campaign.
"No offense to anybody else who's running, but I just said I don't think the primary is a real contest. I think he's going to be the nominee, and I will absolutely support him against the current president," Hawley stated.
This sentiment is shared by many Republicans on Capitol Hill. Numerous Republicans who previously supported Trump in his two presidential campaigns believe that he has already secured the GOP nomination, citing his significant lead in the polls. As a result, they feel there is no need to officially endorse him.
Currently, only 13 out of the 49 Republican senators on Capitol Hill have publicly announced their endorsement of Trump. These include Sens. Tommy Tuberville of Alabama, Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, and Rick Scott of Florida.
"I haven't made a decision yet on the primary at this point. It's not gonna make a difference one way or the other, but I haven't announced anything on that," said Marco Rubio, a senator from Florida who ran against Trump in 2016. Rubio dropped out of the race after losing the Florida Republican primary.
Even some of Trump's biggest supporters in the Senate are not endorsing him yet. "I don't endorse in primaries. I don't endorse," said Senator Ron Johnson while rushing into an elevator in the Senate basement. Trump endorsed Johnson for a third term in 2022, even before Johnson had decided to run again.
Senator John Kennedy of Louisiana, who was endorsed by Trump during his Senate reelection campaign in 2022, declined to say whether he would endorse Trump during the primary campaign. "I don't have anything for you on that," said Senator Kennedy in response to a question from CBS News.
Trump's most prominent Republican Senate endorsement came from Senator Steve Daines of Montana, the head of the Senate's GOP fundraising arm. Daines said he would like to see more Republicans come out and endorse Trump. "He's going to be the nominee," Daines said.
Senator J.D. Vance of Ohio, one of the 13 Republicans who has been vocal in his support of the former president, has been lobbying for more of his colleagues to endorse Trump. Vance declared that the primaries are "effectively over" even before voting in the Iowa caucus has begun.
"Love him or hate him, he's going to be the Republican nominee, and we need to support him," stated Vance.
The GOP presidential primaries have yet to take place, with the Iowa caucuses scheduled for January 15th, marking the first contest of the 2024 primary calendar. Senator Chuck Grassley of Iowa, who has served for a long time, confirmed that he will not be endorsing any candidate before the caucuses.
"I have no plans to endorse anyone, and I believe Joni Ernst shares the same sentiment. The reason we haven't endorsed anyone is because when there were 13 candidates, we wanted all of them to come to Iowa and keep Iowa as the first state in the nation," Senator Grassley explained.
However, Trump has recently criticized Grassley, claiming that he played a role in helping both Grassley and Ernst win their previous elections. Trump made these remarks during a "commit to caucus" event in Fort Dodge, stating, "I got a lot of guys elected right here, including Grassley, who was having a problem and including Joni Ernst, who had a big problem."
Grassley, who secured his eighth term in the Senate in 2022, doubts that Trump's endorsement played a significant role.
"I've won 36 elections. That was long before Trump even knew who Chuck Grassley was," Grassley confidently stated.
Republican Senators Weighing Options for GOP Presidential Nominee
Several Republican senators are currently considering their options for the GOP presidential nominee. Among the contenders are Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, former Ambassador to the U.N. Nikki Haley, entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy, former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, and North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum.
Sen. Mitt Romney of Utah expressed his hope for a nominee other than former President Trump. He praised Nikki Haley as a capable person who has proven her critics wrong in the past.
Sen. Todd Young of Indiana commended Haley for running a great campaign and believes she could win a general election, although he did not officially endorse her.
Meanwhile, Sen. Kevin Cramer of North Dakota continues to fully support Gov. Burgum, but he is open to considering other candidates after the primaries. Cramer wants to see how Burgum performs before making a final decision.
Cramer also stated that he would never discourage Burgum from following his own instincts and making a decision based on what is best for him personally and financially.
