Republican Party Presidential Primaries, 2020 (The More Things Changed)

The 2020 Republican Party presidential primaries and caucuses will be a series of electoral contests taking place within all 50 states, the District of Columbia, and five United States territories. These elections will select the 2472 delegates to send to the Republican National Convention, in Charlotte, North Carolina, who will select the Republican Party's nominee for President of the United States in the 2020 general election. The delegates also approve the party platform and vice-presidential nominee.

Early Polling
Early polling indicates that three tiers of potential candidates have emerged. In the first tier, United States Senator and 2016 primary runner-up Bobby Jindal, Ohio Governor John Kasich, former Indiana Governor and 2016 Vice Presidential Nominee Mike Pence, and 2016 Presidential nominee Donald Trump are the early front-runners.

In the second tier of potential candidates are Nebraska Senator Ben Sasse, New Hampshire Governor Chris Sununu, Kentucky Senator Rand Paul, Florida Senator Marco Rubio, and Senator Tom Cotton of Arkansas.

On July 28th, 2017, Representative Mo Brooks of Alabama became the first major candidate to declare his intention to run for the nomination.

Declared Major Candidates
Candidates in this section have held public office and/or have been included in five major opinion polls.

Declared Minor Candidates
Candidates in this section have not held public office and/or have been included in five major opinion polls.

Individuals who have Publicly Expressed Interest
Candidates in this section have expressed interest within the last six months.

Speculative Candidates
Candidates in this section have not expressed interest within the last six months.
 * Bobby Jindal, Senator from Louisiana since 2017; Governor of Louisiana (2008-2012), candidate for President in 2012 and 2016
 * Mike Pence, Governor of Indiana (2013-2017); Representative from Indiana (2001-2013), nominee for Vice President in 2016
 * Jim DeMint, Senator from South Carolina since 2005
 * Carly Fiorina, Chair of the Republican National Committee since 2017; Hewlett-Packard CEO (1999-2005), candidate for President in 2016
 * Rudy Giuliani, Senator from New York (2001-2007), Mayor of New York City (1994-2001)
 * Jeb Bush, 43rd Governor of Florida (1999-2007), candidate for President in 2016
 * Jeff Flake, Senator from Arizona since 2013; Representative from Arizona (2001-2013)
 * Ben Sasse, Senator from Nebraska since 2015
 * Tom Cotton, Senator from Arkansas since 2015; Representative from Arkansas (2013-2015)
 * Joni Ernst, Senator from Iowa since 2015
 * Chris Sununu, Governor of New Hampshire since 2017
 * Corey Stewart, Governor of Virginia since 2018
 * Eric Bost, Chairman of Our Opportunity since 2014; former Ambassador to South Africa (2006-2009)
 * James Lankford, Senator from Oklahoma since 2015, former Representative from Oklahoma, (2011-2015)
 * Susana Martinez, Governor of New Mexico since 2011
 * John Bolton, former Ambassador to the United Nations, (2005-2006)

Declined Candidates

 * Mike Huckabee, former Governor of Arkansas 1996-2007 and candidate for President in 2008 and 2016. - Running for Governor of Florida
 * Rick Scott, Governor of Florida since 2011 - Running for United States Senate
 * Rick Santorum, Co-Chair of the White House Task Force on the Minimum Wage; former Senator from Pennsylvania, 1995-2007, former Representative form Pennsylvania, 1991-2005, candidate for President in 2012 and 2016 - Running for Governor of Pennsylvania
 * Paul Ryan, former Speaker of the House of Representatives (2015-2017); Representative from Wisconsin (1999-2017) and nominee for Vice President in 2012 - Running for United States Senate
 * Ivanka Trump, President of Ivanka Trump Lifestyle since 2017 - running for at-large delegate seat to the 2018 New York Constitutional Convention