Who's the one Republican candidate you *don't* want to get the nomination?

[Bucky]

I'm pretty sure Trump will get the nomination... unless his legal troubles actually catch up to him. In that's case, it's anyone's game. Most of them are unelectable loonies (Ramaswamy, Larry Elder), or untested lightweights who've never had to run for a purple voter (Tim Scott, Doug Burgum), or antiTrump lepers (Christie, Will Hurd).

But if Trump is somehow out of contention by next summer, which candidate would you least like Biden to be running against? Who's the biggest threat to the Biden recovery (and climate change legislation, and fair taxation, and campaign finance reform, and progressive healthcare policy, etc)?

The one that I think would have the best chance at picking up enough swing states to be a threat is Asa Hutchinson. He can talk the crazy monkey language of Right Wing resentment politics, but he also has distanced himself from Trumpism without pissing off the loons the way Pence and DeSantis have. But that's based on just seeing him a few times on Foxy-type news interviews.

Who is your nightmare fuel on the right? '

[Wounded Bear]

1. Probably DeSantis, I guess, though I'm not really afraid of any of them...nt

[Takket]

2. Desantis terrifies me. He seems legit genocidal.

[chicoescuela]

5. Yes, I don't want to see Tiny D get the nomination. He is scary.

[hlthe2b]

22. I agree. He has the seething resentment thing going but is more cunning than TFG.

[Captain Zero]

3. A Christie - Cheney ticket would be strong

IMHO. Go ahead laugh.
Of course, Republicans are too fucking stupid to do it.

[Walleye]

7. I agree, but the Republicans are too crazy to nominate them

That would be a good campaign

[Bucky]

11. I guess it's possible. I can't see Christie getting the nomination.

Given their bullheaded apocalypticism, I'm pretty sure Christie winning any primary would create an ABC movement. He couldn't hold the party together. If a RW 3rd party candidate forms, even if it gets only 5-10% of the vote in the South, the Democrats would have the edge in Georgia, North Carolina, Florida, and possibly even Texas.

[CentralMass]

16. They would probably do more damage than the lot of them.

[BlueWaveNeverEnd]

4. DeSantis because losing the primary would hurt his feelings badly

he wants it so bad...

[GP6971]

6. I think DeSantis will fade.

It won't be Christie either. So it's up for grabs. Maybe Hutchinson.

[marble falls]

8. Mike Pence. This a dangerous man of no intellect who thinks gawd wants him POTUS, and he ...

... superficially seems a rational calm man, a compromise candidate.

[Silent Type]

9. That's my biggest question. trump is probably easiest to beat, but

the consequences of another 2016 are huge. DeSantis should be as easy to beat, but he could fool us. The others are still vile GOPers, but might appeal to a few more Independents.

Another couple of years of turmoil. Better get a refill on anxiety meds.

[Bucky]

12. DeSantis is socially dysfunctional, sure. But...

I don't think that would bother Republican voters.

[Deuxcents]

10. All of em scare me if ya want to know the truth..

They’re all after SS and Medicare. Tax breaks for corporate and super wealthy. They want to destroy public education. They are against reproductive health care. They want their religious beliefs etched in laws. They have billionaires donating to them. Yep..they scare me

[Johonny]

13. Trump, because he will run third party

He has to run

[WarGamer]

14. Nightmare fuel? Matthew McConaughey

He's a soft Republican... from all indications... kinda libertarian-ish.

He'd vacuum up lots of support.

[CentralMass]

18. ...

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[DET]

15. Glen Youngkin

The obvious answer is DeSantis, but he doesn’t have enough personality to entertain the deplorables, plus I think his neo Hitler vibe even scares some of them. Youngkin is a Trojan horse; he won the governorship of Virginia by appearing to be a normal middle of the road guy while taking advantage of the bogus right wing cause of the moment - CRT - and a local incendiary issue re sexual assault in school bathrooms. Once he got in, Youngkin veered hard right, while still trying to fly under the radar. Youngkin has not announced that he’s running (yet), but he’s made discreet overtures to the moneyed class, who appear to be very receptive. It’s either 2024 or 2028 - not sure which is worse.

[Bucky]

19. People who say DeSantis isn't personable enough to get the nomination remind me of me

Back in 2016 I remember saying, "Trump is too crooked and unprofessional and sinful (and too obviously a well documented charlatan) to get the right wing vote."

Then later I repeated that sentence, but changed it to "...to get the Republican nomination"

Then later I repeated that sentence, but changed it to "...to get the vote in enough swing states to win the Electoral College"

I've since learned that Republican voters don't care what candidates do or how they behave in real life.
Republican voters only care what candidates say, like a mantra. If candidates castigate the right people or give lip service to the right platitudes, regardless of whether they live those standards, or offer the right dog-whistles to the biggest haters, they'll get the votes from the right. They'll even double down on the hypocrisy and call them "values voters." As long as the candidate says what they want to hear, the Republican base will remain enthralled with the shiny object.

[Celerity]

17. Trump winning would stand a good chance of starting to carve apart the Union of the States. DeSantis

would be the 2nd worst to win.

As for the hardest for Biden to beat, I would say a Youngkin/Kemp or Kemp/Youngkin ticket would be trouble.

Maybe for either, having Tim Scott or Tom Cotton or Marco Rubio as the VP might aid a ticket.

[jcgoldie]

20. all of em

[usonian]

21. Abe Lincoln.

Because ...

[maxrandb]

23. It's NOT the nominee...IT'S THE PARTY

Seriously, this is like asking; "which nominee of the Nazi Party do you not want to get the nomination"?

The current Retrumplican Party is broken. It's run by fascists, racists, anti-democracy hatemongering trolls.

It's not the nominees that are the problem, it's the banner they are running under.

The only thing that will return the Retrumplican Party to sanity, is a defeat so crushing at the polls that 2 Democratic Senators win landslide elections in Alabama.

Short of that, it's like thinking your teens garage band will suddenly become bigger than the Beatles if they just find the right drummer.

[Chainfire]

24. That would be Trump.

I believe that if anyone else gets the nomination, the MAGA faithful will stay home and pout.