There is a new potential candidate for Donald Trump’s running mate, but she faces serious opposition.

Three South Carolina Republicans told The Daily Beast that Rep. Nancy Mace (R-SC) has been promoting herself as a vice presidential pick through appearances on cable news, publicity stunts, and brash social media posts, but a source close to Trump said he “absolutely hates Nancy Mace,” and one of her former aides was even more direct.

“I would see Trump pick [Mike] Pence before he picks Mace,” that former staffer said.

“She would absolutely dump on Trump,” her former aide said, adding that “there’s no chance in hell” that Trump would choose her.

“She despises him,” the former aide added. “She would call him an idiot and other sorts of words… She is not a friend of Trump, and Trump is not a friend of hers.”

Trump campaign spokesman Steven Cheung shot down the idea: “None of these so-called sources know what they’re talking about. If they spent half the time spreading untrue stories as they do on their mental health, they’d be much happier people.”

Undercover RINO thinks she can weasel her way into VP spot- and no, it’s not Nikki Haley…https://t.co/SiAfyEiK5t

— Amy Moreno (@VivaLaAmes11) October 15, 2023

Nancy Mace is right. The world was a much safer place under @realDonaldTrump. Trump 2024! https://t.co/nK2c0RERA9

— Alex Bruesewitz 🇺🇸 (@alexbruesewitz) October 12, 2023

Trump recently indicated that he does not see much potential for a running mate among the current crop of Republican candidates contending for the 2024 nomination.

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During a recent speech in Michigan, Trump referred to the GOP candidates congregated in California for the second Republican primary debate as “all job candidates.”

“They’ll do anything: secretary of something, they even say VP. Has anyone seen a VP in that group? I don’t think so,” Trump told the crowd at an auto parts plant in Clinton Township.

Steven Cheung, a spokesman for the Trump campaign, told The Washington Post in an email on Thursday that Trump “was very clear in his remarks” but did not directly address whether the former president is excluding all seven candidates from the debate.

However, one name might be high on his “VP list” — South Dakota Republican Gov. Kristi Noem.

During a recent interview, Trump said of Noem: “I think she’s fantastic. She’s been a great governor. She gave me a very full-throated endorsement, a beautiful endorsement. It’s been a very good state for me, and certainly, she would be one of the people I would consider for something else, maybe. We have a lot of great people in the Republican Party.”

Trump teased that he liked “the concept” of selecting a woman as his running mate, but that he’s also looking for “the right person.”

“You always do a little bit, but I don’t think it’s time,” Trump said. “I want to win, and, you know, it’s very interesting about running mates, when you get down to a vice president, they said, ‘Nobody has ever made that kind of a difference.’ It’s still about the person that’s going to be president.”

If we allow China to control our food supply, they will control us. pic.twitter.com/9uWz5PMjIu

— Kristi Noem (@KristiNoem) October 5, 2023

TRUMP: “She’s been a great governor. She gave me a very full-throated endorsement, a beautiful endorsement actually.” https://t.co/zwWlaOHn1n

— Sean Hannity 🇺🇸 (@seanhannity) September 18, 2023

A recent report from Roll Call speculated that Trump’s “VP list” is likely down to these five Republicans, with Noem’s name likely being near the top:

South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem

Arizona Republican Kari Lake

South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott

Former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley

New York Rep. Elise Stefanik

Not only have Trump’s polling numbers rocketed since he was hit with four indictments, but he has a slight lead over Joe Biden among voters in seven crucial battleground states that will likely decide the 2024 election.

Voters in Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin were polled by Bloomberg/Morning Consult, and their results showed that Trump was ahead of Biden by 4 percentage points due to widespread disapproval of the vice president’s handling of the economy.

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Trump has a 5-point lead over Biden in Georgia, a 4-point lead over Biden in Arizona, a 2-point lead in Wisconsin, a 1-point lead in Wisconsin, and a 1-point lead in Pennsylvania. According to the survey, Biden is ahead of Trump by three points in Nevada, and the two candidates are neck and neck in Michigan.

In the seven swing states, 49% of voters said Bidenomics was bad for the economy. This is the term the White House has used to describe Vice President Joe Biden’s economic agenda.

In those seven states, 46% of undecided voters think Bidenomics is bad for the economy, while 41% either don’t know enough about it or have no opinion.

A survey found that 14% of voters who said they would vote for the president in 2020 now say they would vote for Trump, are undecided, or will not vote at all.

Only 9% of Trump voters in 2020 said they would vote for Joe Biden in 2024, while 91% of Trump voters in 2020 said they would vote for Trump again.