In 2024, Who Would be the GOP's Equivalent of Mayor Pete?

[Vosem]

Freitas isn't interesting enough, I think. Mayor Pete took off because he was the only credible gay candidate and because he can pass extremely convincingly for someone at the ideological edge of the party without actually being anywhere close to it. (The GOP actually has candidates who are similar to Mayor Pete all the time in a certain sense; Herman Cain or Ben Carson come to mind. But you want a minor officeholder).

One name rises unbidden to the top of my mind immediately as to a GOP equivalent, someone who is also interesting demographically, has gotten a strange amount of press for holding a very minor office, and who can code as both very Trumpist and very establishment, so I think my submission to this thread has to be: Richard Grenell.

[Vosem]

In 2016 it was Ted Cruz.

I thought it was Rubio.

It was none.

Yeah, Republicans are somewhat more used than Democrats to having unqualified candidates (like Trump or Carson; this time around Yang fits), who have simply never held any office that qualifies them for the Presidency. The interesting thing about Buttigieg is that he's underqualified -- he holds a position that would normally be seen as qualifying for the House, perhaps the Senate, but certainly not the Presidency.

I think the last person like this to run a credible major-party primary campaign was Alan Keyes in 2000.