{"id":2459437,"date":"2025-07-12T10:57:01","date_gmt":"2025-07-12T14:57:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/two-candidates-emerge-as-early-favorites-to-succeed-trump-fascinating-report\/"},"modified":"2025-07-12T10:58:33","modified_gmt":"2025-07-12T14:58:33","slug":"two-candidates-emerge-as-early-favorites-to-succeed-trump-fascinating-report","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/two-candidates-emerge-as-early-favorites-to-succeed-trump-fascinating-report\/","title":{"rendered":"Two Candidates Emerge as &#8216;Early Favorites&#8217; to Succeed Trump: Fascinating Report"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">22<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Ftwo-candidates-emerge-as-early-favorites-to-succeed-trump-fascinating-report%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2459437&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>The article discusses the early predictions for the 2028 U.S. presidential election, focusing on the emerging frontrunners in the Republican Party as it moves beyond the Trump era. Vice President J.D. Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio are highlighted as leading candidates, both having solid political resumes and strong alignment with former President Trump&#8217;s base. Trump himself has mentioned them as potential successors and remains a dominant figure in GOP politics, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/osborn-invokes-fear-of-billionaire-takeover-in-bid-for-support-for-senate-run-washington-examiner\/\" title=\"Osborn invokes fear of billionaire takeover in bid for support for Senate run - Washington Examiner\">wielding significant influence<\/a> and a <a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3YuVZYV\" >considerable war chest reportedly worth <\/a>.4 billion.<\/p>\n<p>Vance is actively building support through his role as finance chair of the Republican National Committee, while Rubio is noted for his foreign policy contributions. Other potential GOP contenders include Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin and Senator Rand Paul, who may appeal to more moderate or fiscally conservative voters.<\/p>\n<p>On the Democratic side, the party struggles with a lack of clear leadership at the national level, with many <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/campaign-2024-an-early-look-at-the-possible-republican-contenders\/\" title=\"Campaign 2024: An ... Look At The Possible Republican Contenders\">potential candidates<\/a> either considered too old or too ideologically extreme to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/six-signs-biden-is-starting-to-panic-about-reelection-chances\/\" title=\"Six indicators of Biden&#039;s growing concern over reelection prospects\">win key swing states<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>The article emphasizes that while Vance appears to be the likely successor due to his closeness with Trump, the political landscape remains fluid, reminding readers that unexpected developments could occur, as happened with Trump&#8217;s rise in 2016. Trump is expected to continue shaping the party&#8217;s direction, possibly endorsing or promoting family members in politics, but remains focused on current governance and upcoming midterm elections.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<p><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><\/p>\n<section> \t\t\t\t<script>console.log(\"ad slot (AC1)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (IC1)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (IC2)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (IC3)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (IC4)\")<\/script><\/p>\n<p>Predictions about the 2028 presidential election are still in the early stages, but the field is beginning to take shape with two key players already standing out as the GOP prepares to govern in the post-Trump era.<\/p>\n<p>The two current &mdash; and perhaps most obvious &mdash; frontrunners are Vice President J.D. Vance and Secretary of State Marco <a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/hardball-rubio-hilariously-nasty-surprise-woke-state-dept-employees-not-firing\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Rubio<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Both have accomplishments, and recently expanded resumes, to hang their hats on.<\/p>\n<p>Both also have completely fallen in line behind Trump and appeal to the coalition that dramatically delivered him the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.msn.com\/en-us\/news\/politics\/cnn-issues-correction-after-karoline-leavitt-shoots-down-fake-news-report-about-iran-strike\/ar-AA1HgS7Y\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">White House<\/a> twice.<\/p>\n<p>An Axios <a href=\"https:\/\/www.axios.com\/2025\/07\/07\/gop-possible-contenders-2028\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">report<\/a> that was published on Monday pointed out that &ldquo;Trump has mentioned Vice President Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio as possible successors, and they&rsquo;re widely seen as the early favorites for the 2028 nomination.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p> <script type=\"text\/javascript\"> \t\t\tif ( getCookie( \"ff_subbed\" ) ) { \t\t\t\tdocument.getElementById(\"stnvideo\").remove() \t\t\t} else { \t\t\t\tdocument.addEventListener(\"DOMContentLoaded\", function() { \t\t\t\t\tfunction loadScript(src) { \t\t\t\t\t\tconst script=document.createElement(\"script\"); \t\t\t\t\t\tscript.src=src; \t\t\t\t\t\tscript.async=true; \t\t\t\t\t\tdocument.body.appendChild(script); \t\t\t\t\t} \t\t\t\t\tfunction findPreviousParagraph(selector, x) { \t\t\t\t\t\tconst targetElement=document.querySelector(selector); \t\t\t\t\t\tif (!targetElement) { \t\t\t\t\t\t\tconsole.warn(\"Target element not found.\"); \t\t\t\t\t\t\treturn null; \t\t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\t\t\/\/ Get all <\/p>\n<p> elements in order as they appear in the document \t\t\t\t\t\tlet paragraphs=Array.from(document.querySelectorAll(\"p\"));  \t\t\t\t\t\t\/\/ Find the index of the last <\/p>\n<p> before the target element \t\t\t\t\t\tlet targetIndex=paragraphs.findIndex(p=> p.compareDocumentPosition(targetElement) & Node.DOCUMENT_POSITION_PRECEDING);  \t\t\t\t\t\tif (targetIndex===-1 || targetIndex <x) { \t\t\t\t\t\t\tconsole.warn(\"Not enough paragraphs before the target element.\"); \t\t\t\t\t\t\treturn null; \t\t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\t\treturn paragraphs[targetIndex - x]; \t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\t\/\/ Set up IntersectionObserver \t\t\t\t\tfunction observeElement(element) { \t\t\t\t\t\tif (!element) return;  \t\t\t\t\t\tconst observer=new IntersectionObserver( \t\t\t\t\t\t\t(entries)=> { \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tentries.forEach(entry=> { \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tif (entry.isIntersecting) { \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tconsole.log(\"Paragraph is now visible:\", entry.target.textContent.trim()); \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tloadScript(\"https:\/\/embed.sendtonews.com\/player3\/embedcode.js?fk=s28Az7AY\"); \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tobserver.disconnect(); \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t} \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t}); \t\t\t\t\t\t\t}, \t\t\t\t\t\t\t{ threshold: 0.5 } \/\/ Adjust threshold as needed \t\t\t\t\t\t);  \t\t\t\t\t\tobserver.observe(element); \t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\t\/\/ Find the 1st paragraph before #stnvideo and observe it \t\t\t\t\tlet paragraphToObserve=findPreviousParagraph(\"#stnvideo\", 2); \t\t\t\t\tobserveElement(paragraphToObserve); \t\t\t\t}); \t\t\t} \t\t<\/script> <\/p>\n<p>The article also highlighted how &ldquo;Vance has been using his perch as finance chair of the Republican National Committee to make inroads with donors, and has been crisscrossing the country raising money for the party.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>Despite this advantage, it remains very early in the process, so anything can happen. Back in 2013, not many would have imagined Trump would become the nominee in 2016. Things can radically change at the drop of a hat. Just ask Hillary Clinton.<\/p>\n<p>That being said, any lineup of lawmakers or business leaders on the GOP side is likely to have an advantage over <a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/didnt-even-wait-bodies-cold-dems-rush-blame-trump-climate-change-deadly-texas-floods\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Democrats,<\/a> who still lack leadership at the national level.<\/p>\n<p>Many of their congressional options are either too old, or don&rsquo;t have broad appeal, while their governor picks &mdash; such as California Gov. Gavin Newsom &mdash; have pushed too far to the left to win key swing states.<\/p>\n<p>Vance seems the likely successor given his proximity to Trump, but Rubio has been around since the Tea Party days and seems to be delivering big wins on foreign policy for the president.<\/p>\n<p>In addition, more moderate figures like Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin or someone like Kentucky Sen. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/rand-paul-reveals-one-thing-make-vote-yes-big-beautiful-bill\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Rand Paul<\/a> may end up making noise if they can appeal to fiscally conscious voters, perhaps earning them a seat at the table.<\/p>\n<p>The commander-in-chief, however, must stay focused on the agenda at hand. He can play kingmaker later. Trump can even explore setting up one of his children in politics.<\/p>\n<p>Whether it be daughter-in-law Lara as a member of the Senate from North Carolina come next November, or Don Jr. making a run at the big prize, the president is bound to play a huge role in shaping what happens in 2026, 2028, and beyond.<\/p>\n<p>For now, he must be vigilant of political power plays, especially given what happened between him and billionaire <a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/trump-offers-devastating-assessment-musks-ridiculous-proposed-new-party-itll\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Elon Musk<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>As has always been the case with Trump, the only person he can rely on to deliver what he wants is himself.<\/p>\n<p>His war chest, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.foxnews.com\/politics\/trump-secures-record-shattering-1-4b-political-war-chest-dominant-force-gop-midterms\">reportedly<\/a> worth $1.4 billion so far, according to Fox News, is quite impressive and can be used during the midterms to help keep Congress in Republican hands.<\/p>\n<p>Yet too much talk of the future distracts from the present. With all that <a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/watching-carefully-trump-says-arresting-mamdani-table\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Trump<\/a> has on his plate, he&rsquo;d be best served by running the country and letting those around him jockey for position, while secretly praying for his endorsement.<\/p>\n<div style=\"position: relative;\">\n<div class=\"ff-fancy-header-container\"> \t\t\t \t<\/div>\n<div class=\"entry-submit-correction inner-content\">\n<div class=\"correction-form\">\n<form style=\"display: none;\">\n<div class=\"sc-name-field\"> \t\t\t\t\t\t<label>* Name<\/label> \t\t\t\t\t\t<br \/> \t\t\t\t\t\t<input type=\"text\" name=\"name\" required> \t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<div class=\"sc--field\"> \t\t\t\t\t\t<label>* <\/label> \t\t\t\t\t\t<br \/> \t\t\t\t\t\t<input type=\"text\" name=\"\" required> \t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<p> \t\t\t\t\t<label>* Message<\/label> \t\t\t\t\t<br \/> \t\t\t\t\t<textarea name=\"message\" required><\/textarea> \t\t\t\t\t \t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<div class=\"required-message\" style=\"display: none; padding-bottom: 15px;\">* All fields are required.<\/div>\n<p> \t\t\t\t\t<input type=\"submit\" value=\"Submit\" onclick=\"event.preventDefault(); firefly_sc();\"> \t\t\t\t\t \t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<div class=\"firefly-sc-confirm\" style=\"display: none;\">Success!<\/div>\n<\/p><\/form>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p> \t\t<script> \t\t\tfunction firefly_sc() { \t\t\t\tif( typeof window.captchaPublicKey==typeof undefined ){ \t\t\t\t\tconsole.error('window.captchaPublicKey is not defined'); \t\t\t\t} \t\t\t\tgrecaptcha.execute( window.captchaPublicKey, { action: 'submit_correction' } ).then( function( token ) { \t\t\t\t\tvar opts={ \t\t\t\t\t\taction:    'firefly_sc_submit', \t\t\t\t\t\tname:      document.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction [name=\"name\"]' ).value, \t\t\t\t\t\t:     document.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction [name=\"\"]' ).value, \t\t\t\t\t\tmessage:   document.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction [name=\"message\"]' ).value, \t\t\t\t\t\tpost_id:   firefly_post_id, \t\t\t\t\t\tcap_token: token \t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\tvar inputs=[ 'name', '', 'message' ];  \t\t\t\t\tfor( var i=0; i <inputs.length; i++ ) if( ! ( opts[inputs[i]]=document.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction [name=\"' + inputs[i] + '\"]' ).value ) ) { \t\t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction .required-message' ).style.display='block'; \t\t\t\t\t\treturn; \t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction input[type=\"submit\"]' ).style.display='none'; \t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction .firefly-sc-submitting-img' ).src=firefly_loading_gif_url; \t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction .firefly-sc-submitting-img' ).style.display='inline-block';  \t\t\t\t\tconsole.log( 'ma subbing' );  \t\t\t\t\tif( firefly_post_id ) opts['post_id']=firefly_post_id;  \t\t\t\t\t\/* Send the data using post with element id name and name2*\/ \t\t\t\t\tvar posting=jQuery.post( firefly_ajax_url, opts );  \t\t\t\t\t\/* Alerts the results *\/ \t\t\t\t\tposting.done( function( response ) { \t\t\t\t\t\tif( response.success ) { \t\t\t\t\t\t\tconsole.log( response.data ); \t\t\t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction .firefly-sc-submitting-img' ).style.display='none'; \t\t\t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction .firefly-sc-confirm' ).style.display='block';  \t\t\t\t\t\t\tdataLayer.push( { 'event': 'submit-correction' } ); \t\t\t\t\t\t} \t\t\t\t\t}); \t\t\t\t}); \t\t\t} \t\t<\/script> \t     \t\t\t\t\t\t     \t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<p style=\"border: 1px solid #f5f5f5; padding: 16px;\">Advertise with The Western Journal and reach millions of highly engaged readers, while supporting our work. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/advertise-us\/?wj_source=article\">Advertise Today<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p><script>console.log(\"ad slot (BA1)\")<\/script> \t\t<\/p>\n<div class=\"ff-fancy-header-container\"> \t\t\t \t<\/div>\n<\/section>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Predictions for the 2028 presidential election are still preliminary, but the race is starting to form with two prominent figures emerging as the GOP looks ahead to a post-Trump leadership. The leading contenders appear to be Vice President J.D. Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio. Both have notable achievements and recently expanded their credentials. They also fully support Trump and appeal to the coalition that helped him win two terms in the White House. According to an Axios report from Monday, &#8220;Trump has mentioned Vice President Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio as possible successors, and they&#8217;re widely viewed as early favorites for the 2028 nomination.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2459438,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/Trump-Rubio.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[33651],"tags":[7064,6571,4133,5894,3634],"class_list":["post-2459437","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-western-journal","tag-candidates","tag-elections","tag-news","tag-politics","tag-trump"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/Trump-Rubio.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2459437","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2459437"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2459437\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2459441,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2459437\/revisions\/2459441"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2459438"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2459437"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2459437"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2459437"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}