Arkansas Republican Sen. Tom Cotton will not run for president in 2024, sources familiar with his decision to confirm to NBC News.
After making some stops to Iowa and New Hampshire in recent months, spurring chatter about a potential run, Cotton has called up allies and donors in recent days citing “family concerns" for his decision, specifically that a campaign of this nature would take him from his young sons, aged seven and five.
Cotton, who is 45 years old, joined the House after the 2012 election and won a Senate bid two years later. The military veteran leads a subcommittee on the Armed Services Committee and also serves on the high-profile Select Committee on Intelligence as well as the Judiciary Committee. He's been out on the campaign trail this cycle and ran digital ads in Michigan and Iowa criticizing future President Joe Biden during the 2020 election.
The news comes as former President Donald Trump appears poised to announce a bid for president — a source familiar with the discussions told NBC News over the weekend that Trump considered announcing his presidential bid at a Saturday rally in Pennsylvania. During that rally, Trump needled Florida Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis as "Ron De-Sanctimonious" while reading off poll results for a hypothetical GOP primary bid, with the Florida governor seen as another possible presidential contender.
One GOP donor who spoke to NBC News about the potential 2024 field pointed to that dynamic as the tough reality for anyone considering a presidential bid: "There’s no room for anyone with Trump and DeSantis.”
It’s another reminder that even squarely in the 2022 cycle, potential 2024-ers are weighing their options — and some are deciding that this just isn’t their time.
Politico first reported Cotton's decision.
