Sen. Tom Cotton Decides Against Presidential Run: REPORTS

Republican Arkansas Sen. Tom Cotton will not mount a presidential bid in 2024, multiple outlets reported Sunday.

Cotton, currently serving his second term in the upper chamber, had been considered a possible contender for the White House in 2024. He has traveled the country, endorsing candidates for Tuesday’s midterms and extensively fundraising. Despite taking these steps, Cotton will not enter the GOP’s primaries, Politico and Fox News reported.

Cotton is telling donors that he will not seek the presidency in 2024 out of familial concerns, Politico reported. The senator has two children under the age of ten. Three of the last five presidents have had children live in the White House, with President Barack Obama’s two daughters the youngest.

Like many other Republicans mulling presidential bids, Cotton has barnstormed the country, stumping for GOP candidates and elected officials. He had endorsed more than two dozen candidates through his Veterans to Victory program. Notably, he endorsed in all five Iowa congressional races, and spent significant time in the state. 

Seventeen Republicans ran for president in 2016, and the 2024 field could be just as crowded. Former President Donald Trump is likely to seek the Oval Office a third time, and is reportedly considering an announcement shortly after the midterms. Fellow Sens. Ted Cruz of Texas and Tim Scott of South Carolina have bolstered their political operations and raised large sums of money. Cruz and former United Nations Ambassador Nikki Haley have both said their runs will be impacted by Trump’s decision.

Trump’s likely chief challenger, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, has raised more than $177 million personally and through his political action committee, Friends of Ron DeSantis. The total is a record for a gubernatorial candidate. GOP mega-donor Ken Griffin told Politico on Sunday that he would support a DeSantis run.

During a Saturday rally in Pennsylvania, Trump gave DeSantis a new nickname, “Ron DeSanctimonious.”