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Archive photo · 25 March 2026JD Vance Faces Questions After GOP Midterm Losses, With Trump Coalition In Focus
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DeSantis and Rubio emerge as top potential Vance challengers amid 2028 rethink. Donors and allies express doubts about Vance's viability for 2028.
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6 outlets in this story. Read their headlines below.
After GOP Midterm Losses
Vice President JD Vance watched the GOP’s midterm election losses unfold in the East Room of the White House with President Donald Trump and other members of the administration, as the House fell and the Senate fell.
USA Today said Vance faced questions about whether he could win over Trump’s coalition and keep Secretary of State Marco Rubio from challenging him in the party’s next presidential contest.
Tony Perkins, the Family Research Council president, called the midterms a "clear repudiation" of the Trump administration’s tactics and said, "I don't see someone within the Trump administration being the flag bearer for the conservative movement in 2028."
Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich wrote on social media that "The scale of the Republican defeat is so great that it makes the race for the GOP presidential nomination wide open," and he warned that Sens. Ted Cruz and Tom Cotton, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, and former Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin were among "a surprising number of people [who] may decide this is their chance to take advantage of the chaos."
Potential Vance Rivals
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis embarked on a media blitz in recent days as he prepared for a potential run, and Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp weighed a presidential bid, while Texas Sen. Ted Cruz planned to work with longtime political consultant Jeff Roe of Axiom Strategies if he entered the race.
The Washington Post said the Tuesday night GOP bludgeoning emboldened ambitious Republicans who were already sizing up JD Vance ahead of the 2028 presidential primary.
The Wall Street Journal reported through i24NEWS that donors were questioning Vance’s prospects and allies were divided over whether he should run, and i24NEWS said Vance remained undecided.
i24NEWS reported that Vance, in a post-election statement, blamed the Iran war and urged Republicans to address living costs and reconsider the United States’ relationship with Israel, marking a departure from President Donald Trump’s continued defense of the conflict.
Vance’s Response and Fallout
Vance sought to do damage control the morning after the election in a lengthy social media post, and USA Today said the missive blamed the war Trump started in Iran for the GOP’s midterm shellacking. USA Today reported that Vance’s post drew an apparent contrast with President Donald Trump’s continued defense of the conflict, even as Vance had been unfailingly loyal publicly.
Fox News Digital reported that MAGA voters interviewed by Fox News Digital repeatedly named Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio as favorites among those interviewed, and one American said, "Well, I like JD Vance obviously," while another said, "I like Marco Rubio." Fox News Digital also reported that Americans voted to oust Trump and his agenda in a "stunning blue wave," and it said Republicans were looking for a presidential candidate to fill Trump’s "footsteps."
