Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.) isn’t ruling out a future White House bid as Donald Trump struggles heading into the homestretch of the 2016 campaign.
Asked by Arkansas TV station KNWA if he would rule out a 2020 presidential run, Cotton responded, “I don’t think you should rule in or rule out much in life.”
{mosads}”One thing I learned because of the 9/11 attacks is it’s good to have a plan in life, but it’s better to write your plan in pencil,” the freshman GOP senator added.
Cotton, who has been on the radar of Republican leadership for years, has been making the rounds in early-voting states, speaking at local GOP events and campaigning for his colleagues who are up for reelection.
He was in Iowa, where Sen. Chuck Grassley (R) is seeking a seventh term, earlier this month.
Cotton is one of a handful of Republicans who are considered early 2020 White House contenders if Trump, the party’s nominee, loses this year. Cotton would also be up for reelection to his Senate seat in 2020.
But he added Thursday that his current focus is on “working to make sure that a Senate majority is able to keep working for our country and therefore keep working for Arkansans.”
Cotton has largely tried to stay above the 2016 presidential fray. He refused to endorse anyone during the crowded GOP primary contest but signaled early on that he would support Trump if the businessman won the nomination.
The GOP senator told KNWA that he doesn’t support “everything Donald Trump has said or done” but ultimately thinks a Republican should be in the White House.
“I do, however, think America will be safer and more prosperous and stronger for our future with Republican in the White House and in Congress,” he said.