Surprise party rival to JD Vance emerges in 2028 GOP White House race

Vice President JD Vance has long been seen as the heir apparent to President Donald Trump.

But a potential 2028 rival has suddenly appeared, one who could be well equipped to compete heavily against the veep in the GOP presidential primary.

CNN’s Eric Brander said that he 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.”

Brander said, “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.”

Brander continued, “There’s interest in Rubio in part because he has run for president before, unlike Vance. 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. So a lot of these early-state Republican voters have met Rubio before. They’ve already formed opinions of him.”

Brander said that while Republicans are excited about Vance, many in the GOP still feel that they don’t know him well.

“They haven’t had a chance to go through the usual process with him,” the pundit said. “He obviously starts with an advantage as Trump’s legacy, but based on the conversations I’ve had, it doesn’t appear to be a lock. I think a lot of Republican voters are going to want to at least meet and hear from a broader range of candidates.”

Trump came in second in the Iowa caucuses in 2016, finishing behind GOP Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas. Rubio, then a U.S. senator from Florida, finished third.

Trump ridiculed Rubio as “little Marco” during that campaign, but Rubio has become a trusted advisor to the president in Trump’s second term in the White House.