Vance may be ahead in 2028, but these Republicans may run for president

With former president and now President-Elect Trump term-limited and constitutionally barred from running for the White House again in 2028, Vice President-Elect JD Vance is on a volatile path to becoming the heir apparent to the America First movement and the Republican Party. Powerful MAGA foundation.

It was a point championed by Donald Trump Jr., the president’s eldest son and a close and powerful ally of the vice president-elect.

“We get four more years of Trump and then eight years of JD Vance!” Trump Jr. he said during his campaign in Ohio in the weeks before the November election.

A number of Republican politicians, strategists and pundits agree that Vance, who was elected to the Senate in Ohio just two years ago, is likely to be the frontrunner in the next race for the Republican presidential nomination.

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“The vice president is going to be in the catbird position. There’s no question about it,” longtime Republican adviser Dave Carney told Fox News Digital.

Carney, a veteran of many Republican presidential campaigns over the past four decades, said Vance is “the man to beat.”

David Kochel, another longtime GOP strategist with extensive experience of the presidential campaign, told Fox News that Vance is ahead because of “the magnitude and magnitude of last week’s victory and the passing of the torch to Donald Trump.”

“There’s not going to be a shortage of people watching it. But a lot of people watching are seeing the energy associated with Trump’s victory and the movement,” Kochel said.

Former President Trump greets Sen. JD Vance at an election night celebration, in West Palm Beach, Florida, on Nov. 6, 2024. (AP/Evan Vucci)

And with Trump’s strong party support for the presidency, Vance, 40, will be very difficult to unseat.

However, Kochel noted that “nobody’s going to give up on JD Vance completely. There’s going to be competition. There always is.”

Carney added that “there may be other people challenging him.” [Vance]… there are many people who want to be president, but it will be a very difficult route without the Trump route.”

He added that the difficult four years of the Trump/Vance administration will provide potential challengers to Vance with “opportunities.”

However, he praised the vice president-elect’s messaging and approachability in his campaign and that “he’s a guy you can beat, whether it’s four or four tough years.”

Carney also pointed out that the Republican Party has a “deep bench.”

Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Whatley, a top Trump ally, said in a recent Fox News Digital interview that he is “very happy with the bench we have in the Republican Party right now.”

Pointing to Trump’s remaking of the GOP, Whatley added that “as we go into 2028, we’re in a good position to be able to continue the momentum of this agenda and this movement.”

But he also stressed that no matter how far Vance may be in the lead as 2028 approaches, the RNC will stick to its traditional role of remaining neutral in an open and competitive presidential election.

Here’s a look at some of those on the bench who may have ambitions and ambitions for the country in 2028, or beyond.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis waves from the stage during the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee on July 16, 2024. (Reuters/Elizabeth Frantz)

Florida’s conservative governor was flying high after a disastrous 2022 election, but a failed 2024 presidential run and a bitter battle with Trump brought down Gov. Ron DeSantis.

However, the 46-year-old governor, who has two years left in the Florida governorship, has proven over the past few years that he can raise money and retain a large following across the country.

DeSantis also managed, to some degree, to mend relations with Trump, helped raise money for the GOP ticket during the general election, and won significant speaking time at the July convention.

DeSantis, who sources say Trump has been eyeing as a plan B for defense secretary if his nominee Pete Hegseth runs into trouble, may have his eyes on another White House race.

Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp

Gov. Brian Kemp of Georgia poses for an interview with Fox News Digital, the first after being elected chairman of the Republican Governors Association, on Nov, 20, 2024, in Marco Island, Florida. (Fox News – Paul Steinhauser)

The popular conservative governor is one of the few in the GOP who can say he faced Trump’s wrath and not only survived, but prevailed.

Georgia’s term-limited Gov. Brian Kemp has two years left in office and enjoys strong approval ratings in a key battleground state.

Expect to see the 61-year-old Kemp in the statewide campaign of fellow Republicans in 2026, as his national profile grows.

Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin

Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin speaks before former President Trump at a campaign rally in Salem, Virginia, on November 2, 2024. (AP Photo/Steve Helber)

With his gubernatorial victory in 2021 – the first by a Republican in Virginia in twelve years – Gov. Glenn Youngkin suddenly became a rising star of the GOP.

In Virginia, governors are limited to one four-year term, meaning Youngkin has one year left in office.

The 58-year-old governor, who comes from the business wing of the Republican Party but managed to succeed in the MAGA-dominated party, may have national ambitions.

The first step would be a Cabinet position in Trump’s second administration after his term as governor ends.

Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas

Republican Sen. Ted Cruz sits in an interview with Fox News Digital on May 9, 2024, in Washington, DC. (Fox News – Paul Steinhauser)

Sen. Ted Cruz came in second to Trump in the 2016 Republican presidential race.

The controversial firebrand has challenged Trump again in 2024, as he runs for what is expected to be another tough re-election bid, after narrowly surviving his 2018 re-election bid.

However, the 53-year-old senator ended up winning a third six-year term in the Senate by nearly nine points.

Sen. Tom Cotton from Arkansas

Sen. Tom Cotton is interviewed by Fox News Digital on the floor of the Republican National Convention on July 20, 2024, in Milwaukee. (Fox News – Paul Steinhauser)

The Army veteran, who served in the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan before becoming a rising star in Republican Party politics, was considered high on a list of potential allies for Trump.

Sen. 47-year-old Tom Cotton considered a White House run in 2024 before deciding against it in late 2022, putting his young family ahead of political ambitions. However, he did not issue a presidential bid in the future.

Cotton is currently running for chairman of the GOP convention, the number three leadership position in the incoming Senate Republican majority.

Sen. Josh Hawley of Missouri

Sen. Josh Hawley on the Senate Judiciary Committee on March 1, 2024, in Washington, DC (Tom Williams)

Sen. Josh Hawley, 44, and Cotton, is another rising conservative star in the Senate.

Hawley is also a staunch defender of Trump’s America First agenda and is thought to have nationalist ambitions.

Former Ambassador Nikki Haley

Nikki Haley speaks at the 2024 Republican National Convention at the Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee. (Pedro Ugarte/AFP via Getty Images)

The former two-term South Carolina governor, who served as a U.N. ambassador during Trump’s first term, became the first GOP candidate to jump into the race against the former president in the 2024 nomination race.

Former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley is long overdue, becoming Trump’s last challenger before ending her bid for the White House in March.

While the 52-year-old Haley last endorsed Trump in the general election, her earlier clashes with the president-elect during the primaries left a mark. Although he spoke to GOP loyalists at the meeting, his political future in the Trump-dominated party is uncertain.

Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders

Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders appears on stage at the Republican National Convention on July 16, 2024, in Milwaukee. (Getty Images)

The first-term governor of Arkansas is a well-known figure in the MAGA world, thanks to his position as Trump’s longest-serving White House press secretary during his first administration.

The 42-year-old Sanders, who is the daughter of former Arkansas governor and two-term president Mike Huckabee, has drawn national attention for presenting the GOP’s response to President Biden’s 2023 State of the Union address.

Former presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy

Vivek Ramaswamy gives a thumbs up at the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee on July 16, 2024. (Reuters/Brian Snyder)

The billionaire biotech entrepreneur, anti-woke crusader and primary candidate was one of the biggest surprises during the GOP presidential race.

39-year-old Vivek Ramaswamy, who suggested during the campaign that he and Trump were the only two “American candidates” in a large field of contenders, eventually dropped out of the race and became a major supporter and took his place. former president.

Now he’s teaming up with billionaire Trump supporter and friend Elon Musk to lead DOGE, a new presidential advisory commission that will look to dramatically cut the federal budget.

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Others you should keep your eyes on include Sen. Marco Rubiowho ran for office in 2016 and was appointed to serve as secretary of state in Trump’s second administration; Sen. Tim Scott of South Carolina, who did not win the nomination in 2024 but remains very popular; again Sen. Rick Scott of Florida and former Secretary of State Mike Pompeoboth complained but decided against the president’s conduct in the previous cycle.

Also, it should not be ignored – Trump’s top supporters Attorney Byron Donalds of Florida and Attorney Elise Stefanik of New York, whom Trump chose to be the US ambassador to the UN, and South Dakota Government Kristi Noem, appointed head of the Department of Public Security

And then there is Donald Trump Jr., the eldest son of the president-elect and MAGA hero. However, the younger Trump is very close to Vance, which could prevent him from making a bid for the White House in the next cycle.

Get the latest updates from the 2024 campaign, exclusive interviews and more on our Fox News Digital election site.