Ahead of the 2024 Presidential election, Republicans are scrambling to find a candidate to face Democrat and incumbent President Joe Biden. Current leading candidates include former President Donald Trump, former Vice President Mike Pence, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, former South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley, Senator Tim Scott of South Carolina, former New Jersey Governor Chris Christie, North Dakota Governor Doug Burgum, and entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy. Trump has continued to poll first (with a larger following than all other candidates combined), while DeSantis, who once stood firmly in second place, has lost his lead. As the second debate approaches, moderate Republicans are continuing to struggle to find a clear leader to serve as a political alternative to Trump’s faction. 

Trump will be skipping the second debate after also disregarding the first, although this is expected to have little impact on his loyal support base. Moreover, while prosecutions concerning indictments of business fraud, illegal handling of classified documents, and attempts to overturn the 2020 elections have proceeded, threats against lawyers and legal agents involved in the cases have increased from self-proclaimed Trump supporters. Following the events of the January 6th insurrection, the threat of political violence is especially plausible.

On the other side of the Republican spectrum, voters will continue to search for a candidate that best represents their issues and is set to take on both Trump and Biden within the next year.