Secretary of State Marco Rubio is privately telling confidants that JD Vance is the frontrunner for the 2028 Republican nomination and that he’d support the vice president if he chose to run, according to two people close to the administration,
Politico reports.
Rubio’s private comments are a vivid example of how some Republicans are already gaming out a post-Trump succession battle, less than one year into the president’s term.
“Marco has been very clear that JD is going to be the Republican nominee if he wants to be,” said a person close to the secretary, noting that Rubio has expressed that sentiment privately and publicly.
“He will do anything he can just to support the vice president in that effort,” said the person close to Rubio, who was granted anonymity to share the secretary of state’s private conversations.
President Donald Trump has repeatedly named Vance and Rubio as his two most likely successors, even suggesting last week that the pair should run on the same ticket. Both men have insisted they are good friends and there is no rivalry, even as speculation grows over who can inherit the MAGA mantle.
“No one expects Marco to resign from the Cabinet and start taking potshots at the sitting vice president,” said a second person familiar with the dynamic and granted anonymity to discuss the highly sensitive situation. “Beyond that, they’re friends.”
A third person close to the White House, granted anonymity to speak candidly, said the “expectation is JD as [nominee] and Rubio as VP.”
Vance is the leading favorite among those who voted for Trump in 2024, according to a new POLITICO Poll conducted Oct. 18-21. Thirty-five percent say he’s the person they’d most like to see run for president in 2028.
