Donald Trump and J.D. Vance have yet to be sworn in as president and vice president respectively after their 2024 victory and Fox News is already looking towards the 2028 presidential election when Trump will be ineligible to run.
According to Fox's Paul Steinhauser, the Ohio Republican who Trump tapped as his running mate has the inside track to the 2028 GOP nomination but it is not a done deal with the current head of Republican National Committee (RNC) saying they won't put their finger on the scale for any candidate.
By all accounts, Vance is the heir to the MAGA crown, with Republican consultant Dave Carney calling the Ohio Republican "the guy to beat," and adding, "The vice president will be in the catbird seat. No question about it."
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GOP strategist David Kochel, agreed, but cautioned, "There will be no shortage of people looking at it. But most people looking at it are seeing the relative strength of the Trump victory and the movement."
According to Fox's Steinhauser, there will likely be others in the GOP who have long had their eye on the White House who will be testing the waters after having made previous runs.
With Carney suggesting a "possible rough four years for the Trump/Vance administration" would hand challengers to Vance "opportunities," Fox's Steinhuaser pointed to Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, Sen Ted Cruz (R-TX), Arkansas Republican Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders, 2024 runner-up Nikki Haley and far-right Sen. Tom Cotton, also of Arkansas, as possible candidates.
According to the Fox report, "DeSantis, who sources say Trump has considered as a plan B for Defense secretary if his nominee Pete Hegseth runs into trouble, has his eyes on another White House run," adding that Cruz, once thought to be in trouble in 2024 waltzed away with a six-point win in his re-election bid.
As for Huckabee Sanders, Steinhauser wrote, "The first-term conservative governor of Arkansas is a well-known figure in MAGA world, thanks to her tenure as Trump's longest-serving White House press secretary during his first administration. The 42-year-old Sanders, the daughter of former Arkansas governor and former two-time presidential candidate Mike Huckabee, has also grabbed national attention for delivering the GOP's response to President Biden's 2023 State of the Union address."
Also popping up on the list are Sen. Josh Hawley (R-MO) and businessman Vivek Ramaswamy who will be part of Trump's unfunded Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) after Jan. 20th.
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