Vance Seriously Weighs Skipping a 2028 Run After the Midterm Rout, Allies Say
Vice President JD Vance has given serious thought to not running for president in 2028 after last week’s midterm losses, people close to him say.
Vance has not made up his mind or set a timeline, and a White House bid remains on the table, CNN reported after interviews with roughly a dozen allies and advisers. Some allies insist it is more likely than not that he runs.
But they described a vice president wrestling with his ambitions, the fracturing of the MAGA coalition and the demands of fatherhood. His fourth child arrived this summer.
“I wouldn’t be surprised by any decision he makes,” one person close to Vance said. “He’s only 42. He’s young enough that he can have a comeback should this environment make success impossible. It just may not be his time.”
His allies see the war with Iran as perhaps the biggest obstacle.
“The question isn’t if JD can do it. It’s: If the Iran war is still happening, can any Republican do it?” one said. “If they don’t end the war in Iran, no Republican has a shot at 2028.”
Vance said as much the morning after the Nov. 3 election. “The reason we lost is the war. The president himself said so last night,” he wrote on X.
Trump has publicly shrugged off the post. Privately, he was “pissed off” that Vance did not defend the decision to go to war, two people familiar with the discussions told CNN.
A White House official said Trump was briefed beforehand “and did not have any issues with it.”
On Thursday, Trump told Vance, whom he had tasked with leading Iran negotiations, to instead “focus his complete and total attention” on corruption in Democrat-run states.
Trump has not said he would endorse Vance. Asked by “60 Minutes” whether he eventually would make an endorsement, he said, “Probably — not necessarily.”
A Crowded Field
Other Republicans are moving. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, Texas Sen. Ted Cruz and Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp have taken steps toward the 2028 spotlight, CNN said.
A Reuters/Ipsos poll taken Nov. 9 found 45% of Republican voters rated Secretary of State Marco Rubio an “excellent” candidate, edging Vance at 43%, with DeSantis at 32%, USA Today reported.
Rubio said in September that he had “no plans” to run, and he recently told The New York Times he “will not talk about 2028 anymore.”
Vance himself said at an Oct. 18 town hall that “of course there’s a chance” he won’t run, citing his four young children and noting that second lady Usha Vance “has never loved politics.”
Allies still see a path. Terry Schilling, president of the American Principles Project, said, “I would be surprised if he doesn’t run.” But he admitted, “The field has been blown open, and there isn’t an heir apparent.”
Pollster Rich Baris, who is close to the MAGA movement, put it more bluntly. “MAGA is dead,” he said, arguing that Vance must make disillusioned Trump voters “believe again.”
A group of Vance-aligned donors known as the Rockbridge Network met in Houston this week to regroup as they await his decision, a source told CNN.
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