Trump’s potential vice president flocks to CPAC and auditions for the spot at his side

Tomorrow is the South Carolina primary and Nikki Haley, a former governor of the state, is approaching a critical juncture in her presidential campaign. She is locked in a seemingly desperate battle against former President Donald J. Trump, the dominant Republican front-runner, who faces long odds both in her home state and in crucial contests on Super Tuesday, March 5.

But off the campaign trail, conservatives around Washington are celebrating Trump as if he has already secured the Republican presidential nomination. At the influential Conservative Political Action Conference known as CPAC, which began Wednesday, the question is not which Republican will take on President Biden in November, but rather who will join Trump as his vice presidential running mate. .

At least four people scheduled to speak at CPAC today are widely seen as contenders in the made-for-television spectacle that Trump’s potential vice presidential selection process has become: Sen. J.D. Vance of Ohio, Rep. Elise Stefanik of New York, Gov. Kristi Noem from South Dakota and entrepreneur and former Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy.

And while the conference will conclude Saturday with the group’s traditional straw poll, for the first time in at least a decade the survey will include a question about the vice president’s preferences, asking attendees to choose the best running mate for to elect Trump.

The former president has tried to create an air of inevitability around his candidacy, and starting a conversation about who will be on the ballot with him in November is one way he has tried to divert attention from Ms. Haley.

Following a season of “The Apprentice,” the reality TV show he hosted in his pre-presidential life, Mr. Trump and his campaign have fueled weeks of speculation about who he will choose — with several contenders being identified at various campaign stops illuminated and the reaction is measured. of its loyal rallygoers and examining the candidates’ performance as surrogates, both on and off the campaign trail.

That’s why so many of these aspiring vice presidential candidates make the pilgrimage to the Gaylord hotel — where, just a few miles south of Washington, CPAC is being held — to audition for a spot at Trump’s side, even while he has not yet won enough delegates to secure his party’s nomination.

Matt Schlapp, the chairman of the American Conservative Union, which hosts CPAC, said the lineup of speakers was intended to appeal to conservative activists, who largely support Mr. Trump. This was not the year, Mr. Schlapp said, to “reward chattering members of Congress.”

“Pat Buchanan was right: We are in a culture war,” Mr. Schlapp said, referring to the right-wing journalist and politician who promoted the kind of anti-immigration, working-class conservatism that Mr. Trump has advocated. “There are heroes in that culture war and perpetrators, and we want to make sure we call out the perpetrators and spotlight the heroes.”

It’s a very different selection process than that of 2016, when Trump chose Mike Pence as his running mate just days before the Republican National Convention. At the time, Mr. Trump was still an outsider within the Republican Party and had to scramble to fend off efforts that would derail his nomination and set off a contentious convention. That went against his instincts, which would have been to the advantage of a respectful running mate who would aggressively defend him against his many criticsMr. Trump chose Mr. Pence in an effort to unite the party.

Now Mr. Trump might as well be the Republican Party, and he is likely to favor the candidates who are most deferential to him, even as he weighs factors such as whether a woman or a person of color could help win over voters in the general election. .

Michael C. Bender reporting contributed.