Whether Vice President JD Vance has a clear path to becoming the Republican Party’s presidential nominee in 2028 will hinge on the results of the 2026 midterm elections, with a possible GOP wipeout taking the veep down too.
According to conservative journalist David Drucker of the Dispatch, all signs point to Vance becoming the MAGA standard-bearer because current polling shows him far ahead of potential GOP rivals, but that could all fall apart if Trump’s favorability numbers spiral downward, which will also impact the party across the board.
As he wrote for The Dispatch, “The party that controls the White House typically stumbles midterm. But if Democrats win big, snagging control of the House of Representatives and the Senate while defeating GOP candidates in critical state and local races across the country, at least some of the viable Republicans interested in running for president in 2028 would reevaluate any hesitancy to take on Vance. Should a Republican wipeout dovetail with a slumping economy and hardened voter dissatisfaction with Trump, the list of prominent Republicans willing to challenge the vice president could multiply.”
One GOP campaign consultant suggested, “While J.D. Vance is certainly the frontrunner for the 2028 nomination right now, it remains to be seen if being Trump’s VP will be a blessing or a curse.”
Appearing on MS NOW’s “Morning Joe,” Drucker claimed Vance could be a casualty of a GOP collapse.
“They think that Vice President Vance could have a clear path to the 2020 nomination, and that is because of how well he polls with Republican primary voters right now, and because of how potent they would expect the president's endorsement to be,” he told the hosts. “If it's a bloodbath, then you're going to have a lot of ambitious Republicans looking at this race in the same way you would expect.”
“And some Republicans are telling me that you'll see that in any event,” he added.
- YouTube youtu.be
