Vance’s 2028 presidential prospects decline as five GOP contenders emerge after midterms

Republicans’ heavy midterm losses have made JD Vance’s road to the 2028 nomination rockier, and rivals including Marco Rubio, Ron DeSantis and Ted Cruz are positioning themselves.

Historic Republican losses in Tuesday’s midterm elections have made Vice President JD Vance’s path to the party’s 2028 presidential nomination rockier, The Hill reports.

Vance, 42, still has the inside track, but his close role in the White House midterm campaign looks like a liability. He blamed the defeat on the war Trump started more than eight months ago.

“The reason we lost is the war. The president himself said so last night,” Vance said in a lengthy social media post.

Trump has dodged questions about whether he would endorse Vance. “Maybe you have a lot of people running. Maybe nobody’s going to run. Maybe he won’t run. I don’t know who’s going to run,” Trump said.

Other potential contenders include Secretary of State Marco Rubio, outgoing Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, Senator Ted Cruz of Texas and former Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin.

DeSantis called the midterm outcome an “extinction-level event” for Republicans, while Cruz described it as a “blue tsunami”.