While the Republican primaries to determine President Donald Trump’s eventual successor may still seem distant, Vice President J.D. Vance has already secured one influential supporter — Secretary of State Marco Rubio — according to a new report.
Rubio, the former Florida senator who once challenged Trump for the GOP nomination in 2016, has privately told confidants that he would back Vance should the vice president decide to run in 2028, Politico reported Friday.
“Marco has been very clear that JD is going to be the Republican nominee if he wants to be,” one source familiar with Rubio’s thinking told Politico. “He will do anything he can to support the vice president in that effort.”
Trump himself has repeatedly suggested that he views both Vance and Rubio as the most likely heirs to his political movement.
“I’m not sure if anybody would run against those two,” Trump said, according to an Oct. 27 Newsweek report. “I think if they formed a group, it would be unstoppable.”
At this early stage, Vance stands as the clear frontrunner — not only because of his proximity to Trump as vice president, but also due to his growing popularity among grassroots conservatives.
A weekly straw poll conducted by The Western Journal has consistently placed Vance in the lead since mid-September. As of Tuesday, he was favored by 47.7 percent of roughly 11,900 respondents. Rubio followed with just under 10 percent, while Trump himself drew 14.6 percent — despite being constitutionally barred from seeking another term under the 22nd Amendment.
Politico noted that Trump’s influence remains a defining force in American politics, even when he isn’t on the ballot. Tuesday’s off-year elections underscored that reality, as Democrats scored victories across the country — from the New York City mayoral race to gubernatorial contests in New Jersey and Virginia, and even in California, where voters backed Gov. Gavin Newsom’s redistricting referendum.
Though Trump’s name was absent from every ballot, Democrats’ relentless focus on him — and their efforts to portray his party as a threat — played a major role in their success.
That same dynamic will likely shape next year’s midterms, which will be pivotal in determining the trajectory of Trump’s second term — and, by extension, the field of Republican contenders heading into 2028.
“If you’re a Republican that wants to run in 2028 right now, you need to focus on keeping Republicans in power for 2026,” White House Deputy Chief of Staff James Blair told Politico’s Dash Burns on The Conversation podcast following Tuesday’s results.
“The No. 1 thing everybody can do is focus on the team and helping their team — not focus on themselves,” Blair added.
Rubio and Vance are far from the only names being floated for 2028. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis — who challenged Trump in the 2024 primary — remains a potential contender as well, though he garnered only 5.3 percent in The Western Journal’s most recent straw poll.
Still, within the current administration, Vance and Rubio appear to be the two strongest potential candidates. Both hail from politically crucial states — Ohio and Florida — that could be decisive in any Electoral College outcome.
Given that, speculation about a potential Vance-Rubio ticket has already begun to circulate among GOP insiders.
“No one expects Marco to resign from the Cabinet and start taking potshots at the sitting vice president,” another Politico source said. “Beyond that, they’re friends.”
