While the 2028 presidential election is still pretty far down the road, many individuals have already started positioning themselves for a potential White House run. Many on the right are predicting that Vice President JD Vance will run and likely get the nomination. I’m one of those guys myself.
However, it’s obviously far from a done deal. In fact, there’s another Republican who is quickly moving up to become a potential challenger for Vance. It’s one a lot of conservatives and liberals probably didn’t see coming: Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
Much of the speculation concerning Rubio’s surprising rise is coming from a campaign expert for CNN, Eric Bradner. Bradner explained that Rubio has become an important member of President Donald Trump’s inner circle. He also pointed out that Rubio poll numbers in the key battleground state of Iowa are very good.
He then said that the former Florida senator is beginning to cultivate a lot of the support he needs to move out front and become the next leader of the MAGA movement once Trump finishes his final term.
“I was a little surprised during a recent visit to Iowa how frequently the name of Secretary of State Marco Rubio came up, often in the same breath as JD Vance,” Bradner stated. “Both of them, despite their own very public criticism of Trump in the past, now seem to be viewed as team players; as closely aligned with Trump and with his current administration, obviously, as leading members of it.”
According to The Daily Mail, “He added that, unlike Vance, Rubio has run for president before, so he has spent time campaigning on the ground in states where gaining early traction is crucial.”
“A lot of people in the early voting states remember Rubio visiting them in 2016, when he finished third in Iowa in what were pretty competitive caucuses,” the analyst continued.
While Vance has been positioned as President Donald Trump ‘s understudy, there is a groundswell of support for Rubio among party activists and voters. Vance, on the other hand, is still relatively new on the scene and may have more to prove.
A lot of these early-state Republican voters have met Rubio before,” he added.
Despite proving to be staunch in his MAGA principles, Vance is still the new kid on the block, which means he might have a lot more left to prove to the folks who comprise the movement.
“They like Vance, but they don’t know him yet. They haven’t had a chance to go through the usual process with him,” he explained.
Rubio recently sidestepped a question about his own ambitions to one day become president, instead deflecting back to Vance’s credentials.
“I think JD Vance would be a great nominee … if he decides he wants to do that,” Rubio said during an interview with Fox. “I think he’s doing a great job as vice president. He’s a close friend, and I hope he intends to do it.”
To be honest, I have a hard time believing that MAGA wouldn’t support Vance as the next nominee. Sure, he’s newer on the political scene, but if he continues to perform well as the vice president during the next few years, that will likely satisfy supporters enough to back him as the new leader of the movement. It would be enough for me.
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