With the two front-runners for the Republican nomination, former President Donald Trump and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, constantly competing to be more rightwing and polarizing than the other, it is wise to look to the rest of the Republican field to see if there are more electable candidates who – while polling well behind the frontrunners – potentially have broader national appeal than either Trump or DeSantis.

Former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley – as a successful governor, a compelling United Nations ambassador and a woman of color – would be an enormously attractive general election candidate, as would her fellow South Carolinian, Sen. Tim Scott. Scott, is one of the few Republican candidates running on an aspirational platform that is both optimistic and inclusive. Given his compelling personal story and affirmative view of American life and values, he would be very appealing to the national electorate.

Beyond Haley and Scott, there is one person who could potentially galvanize the Republican electorate, though he is not now in the race, Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin.

Youngkin's upset win over Former Democratic Governor Terry McAuliffe in 2021 – after Biden won the state by 10 percentage points one year before – made him the first Republican to win a statewide election in Virginia in over a decade. He got elected by avoiding Trumpian style politics – without directly denouncing Trump or his voters – and running a center-right campaign centered on quality-of-life issues like the economy, public safety, education and personal freedoms, which is precisely what Republicans need to do at the national level to remain viable.

Youngkin's national polling numbers are particularly remarkable. A survey conducted earlier this year – which looked at hypothetical general election matchups between Biden and a series of potential Republican challengers – found Youngkin ahead of Biden by 16 points, 55 percent to 39 percent. Comparatively, DeSantis led Biden by only 5 points (48 percent to 43 percent), while Trump trailed Biden, 46 percent to 47 percent.