A Guide to the Suddenly Crowded Republican Primary

<p>Candidates for the Republican presidential nomination keep entering the field, despite the fact that Donald Trump polls consistently as the front-runner and Ron DeSantis has emerged as the clear No. 2. Why do so many lesser-tier Republicans think they have a real shot?</p><p>Shane Goldmacher, a national political correspondent for The Times, offers a guide to the new crop of candidates and discusses their rationale for running.</p><p>Guest: <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/by/shane-goldmacher">Shane Goldmacher</a>, a national political correspondent for The New York Times.</p><p>Background reading: </p><ul><li>Mike Pence, former vice president — and now rival — to Mr. Trump<a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2023/06/07/us/politics/pence-trump-2024-announcement.html?searchResultPosition=2"> gave his most aggressive criticism of his former boss,</a> portraying him as unfit to be president.</li><li><a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2023/06/06/us/politics/chris-christie-donald-trump-2024.html">Chris Christie’s presidential bid has little chance of success</a>. But if he takes out Mr. Trump along the way, the former New Jersey governor may consider it a victory.</li></ul><p>For more information on today’s episode, visit <a href="http://nytimes.com/thedaily?smid=pc-thedaily">nytimes.com/thedaily</a>. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday.</p>