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Given the way Donald Trump<\/strong> treated his last vice president\u2014i.e., siccing a bloodthirsty mob on the guy<\/a> and then claiming he deserved chants calling for his hanging<\/a>\u2014you might think very few people would be jazzed about the idea of getting the number two job this time around. But\u2014surprise! There are, in fact, many a Republican jockeying for the gig. Currently, though, it appears that Trump has his eye on one candidate in particular: New York representative Elise Stefanik.<\/strong><\/p>\n NBC News reports<\/a> that at \u201ca candlelit dinner with Mar-a-Lago members in late December,\u201d the ex-president asked his dining companions whom he should pick as a running mate, and when Stefanik\u2019s name came up, he approvingly responded, \u201cShe\u2019s a killer.\u201d Since then, \u201cTrump and a growing group of allies have started to look more closely at Stefanik as a running mate, according to eight people familiar with the matter, including people in Trump\u2019s orbit, Stefanik fundraising bundlers, and former Trump administration officials,\u201d the outlet wrote. While Stefanik has most recently been in the news for her questioning of three university presidents about antisemitism on their campuses, Trump has reportedly long been interested in her.<\/p>\n Per NBC:<\/p>\n Stefanik was\u00a0on Trump\u2019s radar long before that hearing, because she possesses one of the key attributes he\u2019s looking for in a 2024 running mate: loyalty. That, mixed with her ability to drive the news on key issues, may be an irresistible mix for a vice presidential pick. \u201cStefanik is at the top,\u201d said Steve Bannon,<\/strong> who was Trump\u2019s chief strategist in the White House and the architect of his 2016 campaign strategy.\u00a0\u201cIf you\u2019re Trump, you want someone who\u2019s loyal above all else,\u201d a Republican campaign operative said. \u201cParticularly because he sees Mike Pence<\/strong> as having made a fatal sin.\u201d<\/p>\n Once a moderate Republican who worked on Mitt Romney<\/strong>\u2019s 2012 presidential campaign, Stefanik shifted to the right and rebranded herself as one of Trump\u2019s top allies on Capitol Hill after he won the White House in 2016.\u00a0\u201cShe\u2019s come a long way, and now she\u2019s really, really with us,\u201d Trump said during a lunch in the spring of 2022, according to a source familiar with his comments, adding, \u201cShe was kind of with us before, but she\u2019s really with us now.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n Stefanik has made her loyalty to Trump abundantly clear over the years, including by:<\/p>\n Asked about the prospect of serving as Trump\u2019s number two during an interview on Meet the Press,<\/em> Stefanik responded, \u201cI, of course, would be honored to serve in any capacity in a Trump administration.\u201d On Wednesday, CNN reported<\/a> that the GOP lawmaker would be campaigning with Trump in New Hampshire later this week.<\/p>\n Of course, nothing has been officially decided yet, and other names reportedly on the list include Arkansas governor and former Trump press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders;<\/strong> South Dakota governor Kristi Noem;<\/strong> Senator Marsha Blackburn;<\/strong> and failed Arizona gubernatorial candidate Kari Lake.<\/strong> Nikki Haley<\/strong>\u2019s name is also said to be in the mix, though there are a number of people in Trump\u2019s orbit who are dead set against her, according to Politico<\/a>:<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n