Former Rhode Island mayor launches longshot GOP primary challenge to Trump

Laffey's tenure as mayor was from 2003-2007. He ran unsuccessfully for the party's Senate nomination in 2006.
Donald Trump in Mesa, Az., Oct. 9
By Ben Whedon

Former Cranston, R.I., Mayor Steve Laffey, R, announced on Thursday that he would seek the Republican nomination for president in 2024.

Laffey's tenure as mayor was from 2003-2007. He ran unsuccessfully for the party's Senate nomination in 2006.

"I'm running because our country needs to directly confront its problems. My party and the elected leaders of our country simply refuse to do so," he said in a video announcement. "We don't need just a businessman. We don't need career politicians. We have a financial crisis, and we need specific solutions."

The Rhode Island Republican's bid is considered a longshot, but his foray into presidential politics comes at a time when more prospective candidates prepare to mount their own challenges to Trump.

Former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley is expected to soon announce her own candidacy, while former Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan and former National Security Advisor John Bolton are both openly mulling bids.

Polling suggests that Trump, who has already launched his campaign, stands well ahead of his potential challengers. A Harvard CAPS-Harris survey conducted earlier this month showed the former president claiming 48% in the GOP primary, with Florida Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis trailing at 28 percent. Haley claimed 3 percent support.