So far, the 2024 US presidential election has offered few surprises.
Incumbent President Joe Biden was assured of winning the Democratic nomination when he announced he would seek re-election alongside Vice President Kamala Harris.
And among Republicans, former President Donald Trump has long been the front-runner, quickly defeating his opponents by a wide margin in his party's primaries.
But one question that remains is who President Trump will choose as his vice president.
While the vice president has limited power in American politics, past elections have shown that the choice of vice president can either help or hurt a presidential campaign.
The choice of Republican vice presidential nominee could be especially important this year, given what is expected to be a tight race between Trump and Biden, with Trump expected to announce his running mate in the coming weeks ahead of the Nov. 5 election.
Here, Al Jazeera looks at President Trump’s possible running mate, their views and what they could mean for the 2024 Republican nominee.
Elise Stefanick, U.S. Congresswoman
When she was first elected to the House in 2014, Stefanik was the youngest woman in the House's history. She was 30 years old at the time.
She went on to become a rising Republican star representing New York's 21st congressional district.
Stefanik currently serves as Chair of the House Republican Conference, making her the third-ranking Republican leader in the House, and one of President Trump's most staunch supporters in Congress.
Stefanik, who has supported Trump's false claims that the 2020 election was stolen through widespread voter fraud, was one of 147 Republican senators who voted against certifying Biden's electoral victory.
She attracted national attention earlier this year when she used a congressional hearing to grill US university presidents about pro-Palestinian protests on their campuses, accusing university authorities of allowing anti-Semitism to flourish.
But critics say Stefanik herself has been accused of promoting discriminatory messaging. In 2021, for example, her campaign ran an ad warning that immigration would “upend the current electorate and create a permanent liberal majority.”
Critics say the message reflects the so-called “Great Replacement Theory,” a white supremacist conspiracy theory that falsely claims white people are being replaced as a result of a scheme to increase non-white immigration. The theory was cited in the 2018 attack on a Pittsburgh synagogue, one of the deadliest incidents of anti-Semitic violence in recent U.S. history.
Stefanik has visited Israel in recent weeks to show her support for its deadly war in the Gaza Strip, and has also slammed Trump's felony conviction in New York state, calling the verdict the result of a “rigged” justice system.
Tim Scott, U.S. Senator
The South Carolina politician, who is the only black Republican in the U.S. Senate, ran for president last May but dropped out before the primary began and endorsed Trump.
After receiving Scott's endorsement, the former president praised him as a “great statesman.”
Since then, Scott has been a prominent supporter of Trump, defending the former president in numerous major US television news interviews and accompanying him on election campaign rallies.
Earlier this month, US media reported that Scott was launching a $14 million-plus outreach effort to appeal to black voters for the Republican Party in key battleground states in November's presidential election.
“The Republican Party offers you freedom. They [Democrats] “The Republican Party oppresses you,” he said in a recent social media video about what the GOP can offer communities of color. “We give them more money, they don't give them money.”
On policy, Scott, who frequently cites his Christian faith, has voiced support for law enforcement, pledged to protect religious freedom from “attacks” by the far left and promised education reform.
J.D. Vance, U.S. Senator
Vance burst into US politics in 2022 following the success of his book “Hillbilly Elegy,” which detailed his upbringing in the US Rust Belt.
Vance, a venture capitalist, graduated from Yale Law School and served in the U.S. Army during the Iraq War before being elected to the Senate to represent Ohio.
He has made a name for himself as a fierce critic of the Biden administration, particularly on issues like the economy and immigration.
His active engagement on so-called “culture war” issues has made him popular among conservatives, especially supporters of Trump's “Make America Great Again” (MAGA) movement, and he has frequently criticized diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) programs that aim to eliminate systemic racism and other forms of discrimination.
Vance has used his family history and childhood to portray himself as a champion for white working-class Americans.
Tom Cotton, U.S. Senator
Cotton, a U.S. senator from Arkansas, has been outspoken on a range of domestic issues but has focused primarily on foreign policy.
He is a vocal defender of Israel and recently joined a group of U.S. lawmakers who introduced a bill to impose sanctions on the International Criminal Court if it pursues arrest warrants for Israeli leaders accused of committing war crimes in Gaza.
Faced with concerns that Trump could cut aid to Ukraine if elected, Cotton defended the former president, saying he “supports the strength and survival” of Ukraine in warding off a full-scale Russian invasion.
“President Trump doesn't want to prejudge what the situation will be in January, and I don't think so either, because we don't know how bad Joe Biden is going to make it. We have to judge what the situation will be next year as it is,” he said. [Trump] “I'm going to be back as president,” Cotton said on Fox News.
Trump has expressed skepticism about continuing U.S. aid to Kiev, highlighting divisions within the Republican Party, but Cotton recently voted in favor of a massive bill that included $61 billion for Ukraine.
Cotton is also a China hawk and has led efforts in Congress to “decouple” the U.S. and Chinese economies, including the effort to separate social media platform TikTok from its Chinese developer, ByteDance, over national security concerns.
The Arkansas Republican drew criticism earlier this year after questioning TikTok CEO Shou Chu during a congressional hearing about whether the company had ties to the Chinese Communist Party.
In an exchange that went viral on social media, Mr Cotton asked: “Have you ever been a member of the Chinese Communist Party?” to which Mr Chu replied: “Senator, I'm Singaporean. No.”
North Dakota Governor Doug Burgum
Burgum, a billionaire former software executive, ended his long-awaited bid for the Republican presidential nomination in December and endorsed Trump about a month later.
He struggled to gain early momentum in the campaign, especially ahead of last year's Republican presidential debates.
His campaign initially survived by offering gift cards in exchange for campaign contributions, a scheme that allowed him to meet the minimum donor numbers needed to qualify for the party's first two debates.
After receiving Burgum's endorsement, President Trump praised Burgum's business acumen on a North Dakota radio station, saying, “I've always admired Doug.”
As governor of North Dakota, Burgum signed a near-total abortion ban and a bill making it a crime to provide gender-affirming medical care to most minors.
Burgum and other Republican lawmakers traveled to New York City last month to voice their support for Trump in his criminal trial over the hush-money payments, with Burgum echoing Trump's own comments in denouncing the case as “election interference.”
Marco Rubio, U.S. Senator
The Florida Republican is one of the most experienced politicians on Trump's list of running mate candidates, but the president has a history of feuding with her.
Rubio, the son of Cuban immigrants, has served as a U.S. senator representing Florida since 2011.
He ran against Trump for the Republican presidential nomination in 2016, and the two frequently traded personal attacks during the primaries.
For example, Rubio called Trump a “con man” and said that Trump turned the 2016 election into “one of the most sordid spectacles in the history of American politics.” Trump also described Rubio as a “choker” and a “frivolous person.” He also derogatorily referred to the Florida senator as “Little Marco.”
But Rubio later supported and defended the former president, calling Trump's recent conviction in the New York hush-money case a “very ugly stain” on America's reputation.
The Florida senator has said he wants to “secure” the US-Mexico border and supports a 15-week abortion ban in his state. On foreign policy, Rubio comes from the hardline wing of the Republican Party and has promoted tough policies toward Cuba, Iran and China.
Picking Rubio as his running mate would pose a bit of a problem for the Trump campaign, as the 12th Amendment to the US Constitution states that a presidential candidate and a running mate cannot be from the same state.
Both Trump and Rubio live in Florida, but if Rubio is Trump's nominee, he could change his legal residency before the election.
