All eyes turn to the race to be Trump's VP: Nikki Haley dropping out kicks battle to be on the GOP ticket into high-gear as Tim Scott and Kristi Noem lead list of candidates vying to be second in command

With Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley officially folding up her presidential campaign Wednesday, former President Donald Trump's veepstakes is officially on. 

While a vice presidential announcement doesn't usually come until the summer of an election year - usually to drum up excitement ahead of a candidate's party convention - Trump is not a traditional presidential candidate. 

For starters, he's already ditched his original veep, former Vice President Mike Pence, after the two had a falling out over Trump's push to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election. 

Trump's also been teasing his VP roll-out for months, telling a Fox News Iowa town hall audience in January, 'I know who it's going to be,' though comments from aides suggested he actually didn't. 

Haley would be an obvious choice for Trump's vice president - to bring the MAGA and more traditional Republican sides of the party together - but neither the former U.N. ambassador nor the former president have shown much interest. 

With Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley (left) officially out of the race, former President Donald Trump's (right) veepstakes is officially on 

That leaves a list of Trump's other 2024 rivals and key allies as contenders for the second spot on the Republican ticket. 

Tim Scott: A 2024 rival who endorsed Trump over the woman who appointed him to the Senate before a key race

South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott was on the tip of Trump supporters' tongues when DailyMail.com surveyed voters in Super Tuesday states ahead of Tuesday's races. 

'I like Scott, I think Scott should be his running mate,' said Michael Hedrick, 72, while voting for Trump in the North Carolina GOP primary on Tuesday in Nash County, a major battleground.

In the conservative Orange County, California Trump voters echoed the sentiment. 

'I would like Tim Scott. Because he's very honest, nice, guy and he's all-out American I think. He really cares about America. And people,' said 80-year-old Bridget Hawley, a Huntington Beach retiree.  

Michael Mesbah, 32, who works in advertising, and Allyssa Mesbah, 29, a dancer are both supporting Trump and both mentioned Scott as the best VP.

'I really like Tim Scott,' said Allyssa. 

Her husband noted that there were a 'lot of interesting potential candidates I raelly like.' 

'I think Tim Scott is probably a viable option,' he said. 

Scott bailed on his own presidential bid in mid-November and then endorsed Trump days before the New Hampshire primary, Haley's best shot at shaking up the race. 

It came after Scott had been first appointed to the Senate by Haley, when she was serving as South Carolina governor. 

Scott brings to the ticket racial diversity and more than 10 years of experience working on Capitol Hill. 

South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott was on the tip of Trump supporters' tongues when DailyMail.com surveyed voters in Super Tuesday states ahead of Tuesday's races

Kristi Noem: 'Knows how Trump ticks' and could help him in the Midwest battleground states 

South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem adds a woman to Trump's ticket - and she has experience in both executive and legislative branches of government, serving in the U.S. House of Representatives before moving home to run for governor in 2018. 

The South Dakota governor may have an inside line on knowing how to handle Trump, or so she suggested in her memoir, where she described working with Trump to bring fireworks to Mt. Rushmore.

She 'had a good understanding of what makes him tick,' Noem wrote. 

She isn't widely known outside her state, but could try to sell a Trump restoration in Midwestern battlegrounds like Michigan and Wisconsin that have gone back and forth between Biden and Trump.

South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem adds a woman to the ticket - and she has experience as both an executive and serving in Congress 

Vivek Ramaswamy: The 'America First' presidential nominee who ran against Trump while showing loyalty

If loyalty is a top criteria, and it almost always is in Trumpworld, the candidate who ran against Trump without really running against Trump has earned a spot on the list.

Vivek Ramaswamy became the first rival to endorse Trump after repeatedly praising him from the debate stages that Trump skipped during the primaries. 

The biotech entrepreneur was the top pick to be on the ticket in DailyMail.com's exclusive poll of New Hampshire Republicans. 

He offered soft suggestions that he could be the superior messenger for Trump policies, then got in a bit of a spat with the winner shortly before Iowa, where he won just 8 percent in the caucuses. 

The 'America First' candidate who said the movement was 'bigger than one man' then immediately endorsed Trump and appeared onstage with him as he campaigned in New Hampshire.

Ramaswamy is an articulate salesman who who can stick to talking points on the stump, and provide some youth to a Trump ticket - 38, he's half Trump's age.

But he is new to politics and it's doubtful he will bring over many voters who aren't already for Trump.

America first second fiddle? Ramaswamy is an articulate salesman who who can stick to talking points on the stump, and at 38 is half Trump's age

Elise Stefanik: A Trump loyalist who is favorite on outside betting sites after she took on the Ivy League presidents

One of the key choices Trump faces is whether he should pick a woman.

Allies have already urged him to choose a female running mate or black man, according to reports this week. 

One contender is a senior House Republican who Trump has called 'a killer.' 

Stefanik rocketed to the top of Trump's potential VP list when she helped topple the president of Harvard during high profile House hearings on antisemitism on campus.

She has signaled her willingness to be completely loyal to Trump by referring to January 6 defendants who stormed her workplace as 'hostages.' 

Stefanik slammed Trump after the release of the Access Hollywood tape back in 2016, but has come to be a loyal defender. 

'Of course I'd be honored' to serve in a Trump administration 'in any capacity,' she said days ago when asked about being his running mate.

She is a leader in outside betting sites and would solidify Trump's support in the MAGA base of the Republican party.

But there are concerns she would be able to attract the independents and moderates Trump needs to win the general election. 

Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-N.Y.) fired up conservatives with her attcks on university presidents over antisemitism

Kari Lake: A firebrand former news anchor who has secured the MAGA base. But what about the rest of the GOP?

Lake has long been whispered as a potential veep. 

The former TV anchor turned failed gubernatorial candidate is telegenic and knows how to fire up the MAGA crowd. 

But on Tuesday her Arizona Senate run got a boost with the announcement from incumbent Sen. Kyrsten Sinema, a Democrat-turned-independent, that she would leave the upper chamber at the end of the year. 

That sets up a more traditional race between Lake and her likely Democratic opponent, Rep. Ruben Gallego.  

Wired: Arizona candidate for U.S. Senate Kari Lake is one potential running mate

Sarah Huckabee Sanders: His former press secretary and a governor with a strong conservative record 

Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders represents a known quantity for Trump, having served as his White House press secretary and, before that, a campaign adie.

She established working relations with the White House press, then built a conservative record in a state where her father previously served as governor. 

Although Arkansas sent Bill Clinton to Washington, it is a small state that is certain to be in Trump's column.

At 41 she brings youth, governing experience, and White House experience, though she wouldn't have the foreign policy gravitas of recent picks. 

And she hails from Hope, Arkansas – the famous birthplace of another U.S. president.

Wild card: The other wildcard names in the mix - including Tucker Carlson and Tulsi Gabbard

Trump has always considered wild cards, with his son, Donald Trump Jr. and wife Melania, floating the idea of former Fox News host Tucker Carlson. 

Carlson said he isn't interested in the role. 

Other unconventional picks include former Demoratic Rep. Tulsi Gabbard. 

Gabbard backed progressive Sen. Bernie Sanders' presidential bid in 2016, though more recently has embraced the MAGA right. 

She could bring in independents and other disaffected Democrats.