For Trump, the more the merrier. He wants his opposition vote split a million different ways.
In comes Larry Elder to the rescue. The conservative talk radio show host may not have the typical pedigree as Trump’s other primary challengers, and thus may find it more difficult to gain attention or traction.
You might recall his run in the California Governor Gavin Newsom Recall attempt. It wasn’t very successful. Voters statewide rejected the recall effort with the “No” side getting 62%. However, in the hypothetical, here’s the election already incase the guy actually does get recalled, Elder ran in that and got 48% of the vote. The second place finisher, a Democrat, got just 10%. So three and a half million people did already vote for Elder. Not bad to carry with you should you survive into the California 2024 GOP primary.
However, detractors note that Elder had been hobbled, and quite possibly, with him as the most serious candidate, he lost the recall attempt. Seems like a stretch. He was the victim of a number of attacks from the Newsom camp, saying he had been guilty of sexual harrassment. He even admitted in a 2011 radio appearance that he had indeed been investigated at one point. But one of the incidents was encouraging a wild guest to show her butt tattoo. He ran a raunchy show. All of it was a bit of a stretch, but it might have worked for the time being.
Elder also has some conservative working class credentials that other candidates might not have. Representing an emerging wave of black people allying themselves with the GOP, Elder, who is black himself, grew up in the rough and tumble neighborhood of South Central in Los Angeles. His dad was a janitor and later opened up a small cafe. Not a bad background. Dad worked his way from scratch, made a comfortable living as a small business owner. Elder can speak to the working class in the GOP, and their aspirations, in a way other candidates can’t.
Elder later became a well known attorney in Los Angeles and has had a number of popular, national syndicated talk shows.
One comment may both help and hurt Elder. He, during the recall scene, declared that Biden fairly won the election. But that statement at least sets him apart from many other candidates, and may allow him to be a more palpable nominee should he (unlikely) make it that far.
Trump can’t be mad. A few polls showed him close with Ron DeSantis in head to head polls. But when other candidates factor in, he sits ahead comfortably. The argument is that the race narrows between the two eventually. But don’t think so fast. DeSantis can lose momentum and drop out if he loses any of the early primary states while the other challengers are still in. Even 5% might make a tangible difference.
Check out Elder’s interview with Tucker Carlson on his run if you’d like to learn more:
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