Tennessee Republicans favor Haley for Trump VP pick, many undecided, Beacon poll finds

Republican voters in the Volunteer State most favor former GOP primary rival Nikki Haley as running mate for former President Donald Trump, but many remain undecided about their preference for a vice president, according to a new poll by the Beacon Center of Tennessee.

Trump is expected to name his running mate in the coming days, ahead of the Republican National Convention next week in Milwaukee. Among the names circulated as most likely choices are Ohio Sen. JD Vance, Florida Sen. Marco Rubio, North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum, and South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott.

Haley has not been near the top of the list for names circulated as Trump's most likely pick; former Hawaii Rep. Tulsi Gabbard is more frequently noted as a possible candidate. But as the last remaining rival opposite Trump in the GOP primary this year, Haley earned 19.5% of the vote in Tennessee to Trump's 77.3%.

Other names mentioned as possibilities include Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders, former HUD Secretary Ben Carson, pharmaceutical entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy, and occasionally, U.S. Sen. Marsha Blackburn of Tennessee.

Asked by Beacon who they would prefer as Trump’s running mate, 14% of a sample of 595 Tennessee Republicans who voted for Trump in 2020 favored Haley.

“Donald Trump is expected to pick his vice presidential candidate any day now, and Trump voters are all over the map about who he should choose,” said Mark Cunningham, vice president of communications for the Beacon Center. “Trump's main rival in the Republican primary, Nikki Haley, leads the way."

Beacon chose names to poll based on vice presidential candidates who earned 5% or more on a Predictit poll while the Beacon research was underway. Blackburn did not meet that threshold.

Here's who Tennessee Republicans who voted for Trump in 2020 favored:

• Nikki Haley - 14%

• Vivek Ramaswamy - 9%

• Sarah Huckabee Sanders - 8%

• Marco Rubio - 7%

• JD Vance - 7%

• Tim Scott - 6%

• Tulsi Gabbard - 5%

• Doug Burgum - 3%

• Elise Stefanik - 2%

• Not sure - 32%

As of Wednesday evening, political betting sites are predicting Vance and Burgum as most likely picks, with Rubio coming in third place.

The Beacon Center's poll was conducted by Targoz Market Research between June 20 and July 1, 2024, and has a margin of error of plus or minus 2.77 percentage points.

Vivian Jones covers state government and politics for The Tennessean. Reach her at vjones@tennessean.com or on X @Vivian_E_Jones.

This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Trump VP pick: Tennessee Republicans favor Haley, poll shows