Former President and current President-elect Trump is term-limited and constitutionally unable to run for the White House in 2028, so Vice President-elect J.D. Vance is a successor to the America First movement and the Republican Party. Things are going as smoothly as possible. Powerful MAGA base.
This was a point keenly felt by Donald Trump Jr., the eldest son of former and future presidents and a staunch ally of the vice president-elect.
“Four more years of Trump and eight more years of J.D. Vance!” Trump Jr. said while campaigning in Ohio just weeks before the November election.
Many Republican politicians, strategists and experts agree that Vance, who was elected to the Ohio Senate just two years ago, is likely to be the clear front-runner for the next Republican presidential nomination. I am doing it.
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Sen. J.D. Vance and former President Trump speak during election night celebrations at the Palm Beach Convention Center on November 6, 2024 in West Palm Beach, Florida. (Eva Marie Uzcategui/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
“The vice president is going to sit in the knotweed seat, there’s no question about that,” longtime Republican consultant Dave Carney told Fox News Digital.
Mr. Carney, who has worked on numerous Republican presidential campaigns over the past 40 years, said Mr. Vance is “the man to beat.”
David Kochel, another longtime Republican strategist with extensive presidential campaign experience, told Fox News: “The size and scope of last week’s victory and the implied handing over of the torch from Donald Trump.” said Vance is the top candidate.
“There’s no shortage of people watching this, but most of the people watching this recognize Trump’s victory and the relative strength of the movement,” Kochel said.
Former President Trump greets Sen. J.D. Vance during an election night celebration in West Palm Beach, Florida, on November 6, 2024. (AP/Evan Vucci)
And with Trump’s support within the party firmly in his grip on the next president, it will be extremely difficult to defeat the 40-year-old Vance.
However, Kochel said, “No one is going to follow J.D. Vance completely. There will be a contest. There always will be.”
Carney added: “There may be others who will challenge him.” [Vance]…There are a lot of people who want to be president, but it’s going to be a very difficult lane outside of Trump lane. ”
He added that the expected four tough years for the Trump-Vance administration will present an “opportunity” for potential Vance challengers.
But he praised the vice president-elect’s messaging and accessibility on the campaign trail, saying, “Whether it’s been a good four years or a tough four years, he’s the guy to beat.”
Carney also emphasized that the Republican Party has “deep depth of members.”
Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Whatley, an ally of President Trump, said in a recent interview on Fox News Digital that he was “very excited that we now have a committee member within the Republican Party.”
Pointing to Trump’s reshaping of the Republican Party, Whatley added: “We’re in a great position to continue the momentum of this agenda and this movement as we head into 2028.”
But he also said the RNC would stick to its traditional role of remaining neutral in open and contentious presidential primaries, even though Vance is likely the front-runner as 2028 approaches. emphasized.
Here are some of the bench members who may have national aspirations and ambitions in 2028 and beyond.
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis waves from the stage at the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee, July 16, 2024 (Reuters/Elizabeth Franz)
Conservative Florida governor was riding high after a landslide 2022 reelection, but a failure in the 2024 presidential primary and a bitter battle with President Trump have left Florida Governor Ron DeSantis’ position in jeopardy. has fallen from grace.
But the 46-year-old term-limited governor, who has two years left at Florida’s helm, has proven a knack for fundraising over the past few years and has attracted many supporters across the country.
Mr. DeSantis was also able to mend some ties with Mr. Trump, helping raise ticket money for the Republican Party in the general election and winning a prime-time speaking slot at the party’s convention in July.
Sources say Trump is considering Plan B for defense secretary if presidential candidate Pete Hegseth runs into trouble, sources say DeSantis likely won’t run for re-election to the White House. He seems to be paying attention.
Georgia Governor Brian Kemp
Georgia Governor Brian Kemp gives his first interview with Fox News Digital since being elected chairman of the Republican Governors Association on November 20, 2024 in Marco Island, Florida. (Fox News – Paul Steinhauser)
The popular conservative governor is one of the few Republican governors who can claim to have not only survived, but thrived in the face of President Trump’s wrath.
Georgia Governor Brian Kemp has two years left in his term, and enjoys high approval ratings in key battleground states.
As his national profile grows, Kemp, 61, will likely be campaigning for Republicans across the country in 2026.
Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin
Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin speaks before former President Trump at a campaign rally in Salem, Virginia, on November 2, 2024. (AP Photo/Steve Helber)
With his victory in the 2021 gubernatorial race (the first for a Virginia Republican in more than a dozen years), Gov. Glenn Youngkin quickly became a rising star in the Republican Party.
In Virginia, gubernatorial terms are limited to four years, and Yonkin has one year left in his term.
The 58-year-old governor, who comes from the business wing of the Republican Party but has enjoyed success in MAGA-dominated parties, likely harbors national ambitions.
The first step could be a cabinet position in the second Trump administration after his term as governor ends.
Senator Ted Cruz (Texas)
Republican Sen. Ted Cruz speaks with FOX News Digital in Washington, D.C., May 9, 2024 (FOX News – Paul Steinhauser)
Sen. Ted Cruz was the runner-up to President Trump in the blockbuster 2016 Republican presidential campaign.
The controversial conservative flame monger has announced that he will challenge Trump again in 2024, as the president narrowly survived re-election in 2018 and is running for another term that was thought to be difficult. I saw her off.
But the 53-year-old senator ultimately won a third six-year term in the Senate by nearly nine points.
Senator Tom Cotton (Arkansas)
Sen. Tom Cotton is interviewed by Fox News Digital on the floor of the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee on July 20, 2024. (Fox News – Paul Steinhauser)
The veteran, who served in the Iraq and Afghanistan wars and has since become a rising star in Republican politics, was thought to be on Mr. Trump’s list of potential vice presidential candidates.
Sen. Tom Cotton, now 47, seriously considered running for the White House in 2024, but decided against it in late 2022, putting his young family ahead of his political ambitions. However, he did not rule out the possibility of running for president in the future.
Cotton is currently running for the position of Republican Conference Chairman, the third-ranking leadership position in the incoming Senate Republican majority.
Missouri State Senator Josh Hawley
Senator Josh Hawley (Tom Williams) attends a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on March 1, 2024 in Washington, DC.
Along with Cotton, 44-year-old Sen. Josh Hawley is also a rising conservative star in the Senate.
Hawley is also a strong defender of President Trump’s America First policy and is considered to have national aspirations.
Former Ambassador Nikki Haley
Nikki Haley speaks at the 2024 Republican National Convention at Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee. (Pedro Ugarte/AFP via Getty Images)
The former two-term South Carolina governor, who served as U.N. ambassador during President Trump’s first term, is the first Republican challenger to jump into the 2024 nomination race with the former president.
Former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley outperformed other candidates to become the final challenger to Trump, ending her White House bid in March.
Haley, 52, ultimately supported Trump in the general election, but her previous clashes with the president-elect in the primaries left a deep impression on her. Although she addressed Republicans at the convention, her political future within President Trump’s majority party is uncertain.
Arkansas Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders
Arkansas Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders stands on stage at the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee on July 16, 2024. (Getty Images)
The conservative first-term governor of Arkansas is a well-known figure in the MAGA world thanks to his tenure as the longest-serving White House press secretary during President Trump’s first administration.
Sanders, 42, the daughter of former Arkansas governor and two-time presidential candidate Mike Huckabee, also gained national attention for her Republican response to President Biden’s 2023 State of the Union address.
Former presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy
Vivek Ramaswami gives a thumbs up at the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee, July 16, 2024 (Reuters/Brian Snyder)
The billionaire biotech entrepreneur, anti-woke activist and first-time candidate has become one of the biggest surprises in the race for the Republican presidential nomination.
Vivek Ramaswamy, now 39 years old, touted himself and Trump as the only two “America’s No. 1” among the many candidates during the campaign, but ultimately dropped out of the race. Withdrew and became a major supporter and delegate. Former president.
He is currently working with billionaire Trump supporter and friend Elon Musk to helm DOGE, a new presidential advisory board that aims to make deep cuts to the federal budget.
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Other notable names include Sen. Marco Rubio, who ran for the nomination in 2016 and was named secretary of state in the second Trump administration. South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott remains highly popular despite unsuccessfully running for the 2024 nomination. Florida Sen. Rick Scott and former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo both considered running for president in the past cycle but decided not to.
Also, it cannot be ignored that President Trump’s top supporters, Representative Byron Donald of Florida and Representative Elise Stefanik of New York, have been chosen by President Trump to be the US ambassador to the United Nations and nominated to lead the post. There is also South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem. Department of Homeland Security
And then there’s Donald Trump Jr., the president-elect’s eldest son and MAGA warrior. But the younger Trump is so close to Vance that his bid for the White House is likely to be hampered next cycle.
Get the latest on the 2024 campaign trail, exclusive interviews and more with Fox News Digital’s Election Hub.
Paul Steinhauser is a political reporter based in New Hampshire.
