{"id":2523693,"date":"2025-12-21T07:55:01","date_gmt":"2025-12-21T12:55:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/what-can-jd-vance-do-to-stay-ahead-of-the-pack-for-2028\/"},"modified":"2025-12-21T07:56:55","modified_gmt":"2025-12-21T12:56:55","slug":"what-can-jd-vance-do-to-stay-ahead-of-the-pack-for-2028","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/what-can-jd-vance-do-to-stay-ahead-of-the-pack-for-2028\/","title":{"rendered":"What can JD Vance do to stay ahead of the pack for 2028?\u00a0"},"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\">26<\/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%2Fwhat-can-jd-vance-do-to-stay-ahead-of-the-pack-for-2028%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=2523693&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 Vice President JD Vance&#8217;s position and prospects as a potential candidate for the 2028 Republican presidential nomination. Despite minimal public declarations about his ambitions, Vance currently leads polling by a significant margin over rivals like Donald Trump Jr. However, like <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/kamala-harris-says-there-is-no-doubt-she-and-biden-will-have-to-earn-our-reelect\/\" title=\"Kamala Harris says there is &#039;no doubt&#039; she and ... will have to &#039;earn our reelect&#039;\">past vice presidents<\/a>, his success will largely depend on President donald Trump&#8217;s performance &#8211; particularly regarding the economy, where Trump&#8217;s approval ratings are net negative but slightly better than those of Joe Biden at the end of his term.<\/p>\n<p>political strategists highlight Vance&#8217;s advantages, including his close ties to Trump, strong relationships with the Republican base and Congress, and his role as the Republican National Committee&#8217;s finance chairman, which grants him access to influential donors. to solidify his position, Vance needs to continue supporting Trump&#8217;s legislative agenda, raise funds for the GOP, and maintain party unity.<\/p>\n<p>Challenges for Vance include overcoming the overshadowing presence of Trump, improving his appeal among women voters, and addressing skepticism from the <a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3YuVZYV\" >national security establishment due<\/a> to his isolationist views. experts suggest that the 2026 midterm elections provide Vance an opportunity to build his own brand by actively campaigning nationwide and engaging with various voter concerns.<\/p>\n<p>Trump has publicly called Vance his likely &#8220;heir apparent&#8221; to the MAGA movement,though some analysts caution that vice presidents typically face difficulties succeeding presidents,and Trump&#8217;s influence may wane over time. Marco Rubio has also been mentioned as a potential ally, with Trump proposing the idea of a joint ticket featuring both Vance and Rubio.<\/p>\n<p>JD Vance holds a leading position early on, but his future success will depend on strategic outreach, navigating Trump&#8217;s legacy, and broadening his appeal to key voter segments ahead of 2028.  <\/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\" ?><\/p>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-button\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-icon td-icon-mobile\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-header-search-button-mob dropdown-toggle\" data-toggle=\"dropdown\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-search-icon td-icon-search\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-button\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-icon td-icon-mobile\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<div class=\"tdb-drop-down-search\" aria-labelledby=\"td-header-search-button\">\n<div class=\"tdb-drop-down-search-inner\">\n<form method=\"get\" class=\"tdb-search-form\" action=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/\"><\/form>\n<div class=\"tdb-aj-search\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/#\" role=\"button\" aria-label=\"Search\" class=\"tdb-head-search-btn dropdown-toggle\" data-toggle=\"dropdown\"><i class=\"tdb-search-icon td-icon-search\"><\/i><\/a><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<h1 class=\"tdb-title-text\">What can JD Vance do to stay ahead of the pack for 2028?&nbsp;<\/h1>\n<div><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-title-line\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<div id=\"Brid_2441882\" class=\"tpd-featured-video bridtv\"><\/div>\n<p>Vice President <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/jd-vance\/\">JD Vance<\/a> has been a loyal lieutenant to President <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/donald-trump\/\">Donald Trump<\/a>, but the new year will bring new opportunities and challenges should he decide to launch a campaign to become commander in chief.<\/p>\n<p>More than two years before the first votes are cast in the 2028 Republican presidential primary, Vance, who has downplayed speculation regarding his political aspirations, is polling, on average, <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.realclearpolling.com\/elections\/president\/2028\/national\">more than 40 percentage points ahead<\/a> of his closest competitor, <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/donald-trump-jr\/\">Donald Trump Jr.<\/a>, according to <em>RealClearPolitics<\/em>.<\/p>\n<div class=\"recommended-stories\">\n<h2>Recommended Stories<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/white-house\/4135252\/trump-blakeman-endorsement-new-york-governor\/\">Trump quickly endorses Blakeman for New York governor after Stefanik bows out<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/white-house\/4135231\/vance-gop-charge-blasting-bernie-sanders-killing-pediatric-cancer-bill\/\">Vance leads GOP charge in blasting &#8216;Grinch&#8217; Bernie Sanders for killing pediatric cancer bill: &lsquo;Really disgraceful&rsquo;<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/white-house\/4135173\/democrats-problem-trump-delivers-on-economy-concha\/\">Democrats will have a &lsquo;big problem&rsquo; if Trump delivers on the economy: Joe Concha<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"article-paywall\">\n<p>But, like all vice presidents before him, Vance, 41, would face the challenge of having to defend his president&rsquo;s record, which would become his own.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;Vice President Vance is clearly in the pole position for[the[the<a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/2028-elections\/\">2028]presidential race<\/a>,&rdquo; Republican strategist Cesar Conda told the <em>Washington Examiner<\/em>. &ldquo;However, his political prospects are tied to the president&rsquo;s performance over these next three years, especially on the <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/section\/policy\/economy\/\">economy<\/a>.&rdquo;&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;\">Former Vice President&nbsp;<a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/kamala-harris\/\">Kamala Harris&nbsp;<\/a>encountered a similar complication last year concerning then-President&nbsp;<a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/joe-biden\/\">Joe Biden&rsquo;s<\/a>&nbsp;economic record, with the 2024 election becoming, in part, about the economy as voters sought change.<\/span>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Regardless of whether the 2028 election is a change contest or not, Trump&rsquo;s current average economic approval rating is <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.realclearpolling.com\/polls\/approval\/donald-trump\/issues\/economy\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/biden-skips-climate-conference-as-his-green-agenda-is-criticized-at-home\/\" title=\"... skips climate conference amid domestic criticism of his green agenda\">net negative 15 percentage points<\/a><\/a>, again according to <em>RealClearPolitics<\/em>, only slightly better than Biden&rsquo;s <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.realclearpolling.com\/polls\/approval\/joe-biden\/issues\/economy\">net negative 21 points<\/a> when he left office in January.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>For President <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/ronald-reagan\/\">Ronald Reagan<\/a> biographer Craig Shirley, it is too soon to ascertain whether Trump would be a drag on Vance or not, the former Republican strategist contending, &ldquo;We don&rsquo;t know where Trump will be in a year.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;It is possible to run on [Trump&rsquo;s] issues and association without picking up his negatives by simply making your campaign about the positive things like the <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/border\/\">border<\/a> and[thedeportationof[thedeportationof<a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/illegal-immigrants\/\">illegal immigrants<\/a>], <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/inflation\/\">inflation<\/a> coming down, peace agreements throughout the world while putting your liberal opponent on the defensive by associating him or her with all the failures of Biden and Bidenism,&rdquo; Shirley told the <em>Washington Examiner<\/em>.<\/p>\n<p>Despite the public perception of Trump as he starts to pivot toward next year&rsquo;s <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/2026-elections\/\">midterm elections<\/a>, Vance does have other advantages, including his close relationships with him, his base, and <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/congress\/\">Congress<\/a>, in addition to his position as the <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/republican-national-committee\/\">Republican National Committee&rsquo;s<\/a> finance chairman. Through the latter, Vance has been introduced to the GOP&rsquo;s most generous donors.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;JD needs to keep doing what he&rsquo;s doing now: serving as the chief lobbyist for the president&rsquo;s legislative agenda on the Capitol Hill, raising money for the <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/republican-party\/\">Republican Party<\/a>, and keeping the president&rsquo;s[[<a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/make-america-great-again\/\">Make America Great Again<\/a>]base unified and motivated,&rdquo; Conda, the strategist and founding partner of Navigators Global, who fundraised for Vance&rsquo;s 2022 Ohio U.S. Senate campaign, said.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Doing so could also help Vance with Trump&rsquo;s endorsement, which the president appears more inclined to provide him after declining to even discuss his succession plan with reporters until August. Prime Policy Group founding chairman Charlie Black agreed, arguing that generally vice presidents are &ldquo;always the front-runner for the nomination.&rdquo;&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;He could help himself by securing the president&rsquo;s endorsement in the 2028 primaries,&rdquo; Black told the <em>Washington Examiner<\/em>.<\/p>\n<p>Shirley, the biographer, disagreed: &ldquo;[Trump] has enormous influence over the GOP, including future presidential nominees, but not absolute. The power of the incumbent wanes naturally towards the end of their terms. Vice presidents rarely succeed their presidents. [Martin] Van Buren, <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/george-h-w-bush\/\">[George H.W.]  Bush<\/a>, and Biden are more the exception than the rule.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>For Republican strategist John Feehery, this is because it is &ldquo;difficult&rdquo; for vice presidents to &ldquo;carve out&rdquo; their own niche, though the partner of EFB Advocacy asserted Vance&rsquo;s &ldquo;biggest problem is trying to figure out how he messages to <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/women\/\">women<\/a>&rdquo; as he creates &ldquo;his own brand for Republican voters.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;That&rsquo;s a huge deficit for him right now and not just Democratic women, but Republican women,&rdquo; Feehery told the <em>Washington Examiner<\/em>. &ldquo;I still don&rsquo;t think people really know him that well because Trump is such a huge star in his own right, and he overshadows everybody. So [my advice to Vance is] just finding ways to show that he&rsquo;s got the ability, and gusto, and vision to take over when Trump runs out of runway space, and stops.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>To that end, Vance &mdash; a relative political newcomer who was only elected to the <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/section\/senate\">Senate<\/a> in 2022 after the Iraq War Marine Corps veteran and Yale Law School graduate was a corporate lawyer, Senate aide, and venture capitalist before publishing his bestselling, Netflix-adapted memoir <em>Hillbilly Elegy<\/em> in 2016 &mdash; has an average <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.realclearpolling.com\/polls\/favorability\/political-leaders\">40% favorable-45% unfavorable<\/a> rating, according to <em>RealClearPolitics<\/em>. That means, on average, 15% of polling respondents do not have an opinion of him.<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-vance-can-help-himself-in-2026\">Vance can help himself in 2026<\/h2>\n<p>Feehery described the <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/2026-elections\/\">2026 midterm elections<\/a> as a good opportunity for Vance to help himself as he helps Trump and Republicans, an edge he has over the likes of Secretary of State <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/marco-rubio\/\">Marco Rubio<\/a>, who, in Feehery&rsquo;s words, is &ldquo;building his brand overseas,&rdquo; but &ldquo;nobody cares what&rsquo;s going on overseas.&rdquo;&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;He should be on the road every day helping Republicans in the midterms because that&rsquo;s how you build your ability to create those shifts where that&rsquo;ll pay off in support down the line,&rdquo; the strategist said. &ldquo;He needs to go to every part of the country, listen to the concerns of the voters back there, and maybe become a force to mitigate some of the bad policies, the counterproductive policies that the <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/trump-administration\/\">Trump administration<\/a> is doing.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;He&rsquo;s pretty good with the tech bros. That&rsquo;s where he comes from. But there&rsquo;s other parts of the country where, especially in Republican areas, he can get out there and plow some fields,&rdquo; he added, alluding to Vance&rsquo;s childhood among &ldquo;the forgotten American coal miners of the Appalachia.&rdquo; <\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;The other thing that Vance has a problem with is [that] the <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/section\/policy\/national-security\/\">national security <\/a>establishment doesn&rsquo;t really like him that much because he&rsquo;s an isolationist,&rdquo; Feehery continued. &ldquo;So he&rsquo;s going to have to figure out a way to deal with that.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>After avoiding speaking about his succession plan amid conjecture he may try to seek a third term, Trump in August acknowledged Vance is &ldquo;most likely&rdquo; his &ldquo;heir apparent to MAGA.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;In all fairness, he&rsquo;s the vice president,&rdquo; Trump told reporters at the <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/section\/news\/white-house\/\">White House<\/a>. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s too early, obviously, to talk about it, but certainly he&rsquo;s doing a great job, and he would be probably favored at this point.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>Simultaneously, Trump has repeatedly praised Rubio, who campaigned against the president in 2016, recommending that Vance and Rubio run together as a ticket.<\/p>\n<p><a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/campaigns\/3914062\/trump-campaign-2024-double-edged-sword\/\"><strong>TRUMP CAMPAIGNING &lsquo;LIKE IT&rsquo;S 2024&rsquo; COULD BE DOUBLE-EDGED SWORD FOR GOP IN MIDTERM ELECTIONS<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;We have JD. Marco is great,&rdquo; Trump said on Air Force One in October during his <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/asia\/\">Asia<\/a> trip in front of Rubio. &ldquo;If they formed a group, it would be unstoppable.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>Nevertheless, Rubio has reportedly told confidants that Vance has the first right of refusal when it comes to a presidential campaign.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>How can JD Vance stay ahead for 2028?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2652,"featured_media":2523694,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/vance-slotkin-illegal-military-orders.jpg?w=696","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[33651],"tags":[41461,69182,36637,32082,32504],"class_list":["post-2523693","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-western-journal","tag-2028-election","tag-campaign-tips","tag-election-forecast","tag-jd-vance","tag-political-strategy"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/vance-slotkin-illegal-military-orders.jpg?w=696","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2523693","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\/2652"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2523693"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2523693\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2523697,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2523693\/revisions\/2523697"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2523694"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2523693"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2523693"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2523693"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}