As President Trump’s approval ratings dip, the list of Republicans considering a 2028 White House bid is expanding as some look ahead to a post-MAGA party.
Sen. John Kennedy this week added his name to the growing field of GOPers who say they are weighing 2028 presidential campaigns as the party’s midterm prospects look increasingly bleak.
Nearly a dozen other Republicans have also expressed interest or hinted they will run to succeed Mr. Trump. Polls show voters are deeply dissatisfied with the president’s job performance and Democrats are positioned for a blue wave in November.
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The growing list of candidates includes former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, Kentucky GOP Sen. Rand Paul, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, Texas GOP Senator Ted Cruz and former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, among others.
Some are vying to inherit the MAGA movement.
Mr. Trump’s son, Donald Trump Jr., is a potential candidate who polls near the top of the list of hypothetical GOP contenders despite his denials that he is interested in running.
Other Republicans are running away from Mr. Trump’s legacy.
Mr. Christie predicted last week that the president’s sagging approval ratings would thwart Vice President J.D. Vance, even though he consistently leads 2028 GOP presidential polls.
“I think he’s going to reek with the stink of Donald Trump. And I think the Republican Party will probably look at that and say I don’t want to get a Democrat elected, and, if I nominate him, the overwhelming likelihood is you will,” Mr. Christie, a longtime Trump critic, said during a George Washington University political forum on Oct. 1.
Mr. Christie and other Republicans have their eye on the Nov. 3 midterm elections.
A total wipeout for the GOP, an outcome predicted by some analysts, would hand the House and Senate majorities back to the Democrats and throw the 2028 GOP presidential nomination into greater uncertainty.
Would Mr. Vance hold onto his front-runner status if Republicans are crushed in November?
Polls show Republican support for the MAGA agenda remains strong, but a GOP thrashing would likely dim Mr. Vance’s prospects and those of Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
Mr. Rubio, one of the most prominent Trump Cabinet members, said he plans to back a Vance presidential bid but consistently ranks at the top of the 2028 polls along with Mr. Vance and Don Jr.
Mr. Christie, Mr. Kennedy and many others are waiting until after the midterms to pounce.
“If a bunch of goobers on my side of the aisle run, and I think they’re goobers, and one of the goobers might win, and I think I could do a better job, I would consider running,” Mr. Kennedy said on NBC’s “Meet the Press.”
The president and the GOP, Mr. Kennedy said, have failed to adequately address the high cost of living, and voters are turning on them.
“The American people, both sides, feel anger. If they don’t feel anger, they feel deep melancholy. They feel like the Washington political leaders have let them down, that they don’t listen, they don’t care, they feel that way about Congress in particular,” Mr. Kennedy said.
A crowded field of Republican and Democratic presidential candidates, Mr. Kennedy said, “will be good for both parties.”
Mr. Paul, who leans libertarian, has been a steady critic of the Trump administration, opposing the president’s tariffs, the war in Iran and the military strikes on drug boats, among other policies. He told Newsmax he’ll decide whether to launch a 2028 presidential bid “as we see the results coming in for the midterms.”
Mr. Cruz hasn’t been shy about his White House aspirations.
“It’s no secret I want to be president,” Mr. Cruz said this summer on Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick’s podcast.
Mr. Cruz placed second behind Mr. Trump in the 2016 Republican presidential primary. He later became a staunch Trump ally in the Senate and is generating buzz with his own podcast, book tour and campaign stops in Iowa.
Mr. Cruz is already sniping with the early frontrunner, Mr. Vance, whose poll numbers put him comfortably ahead of all other possible GOP primary candidates.
In an interview Saturday with Politico, Mr. Cruz blasted Mr. Vance for “feeling insecure” when he lashes out at potential rivals.
Days earlier, Mr. Vance took a swipe at Mr. Cruz for seeming to prematurely launch a White House bid.
“It is really obvious to me that, at this very moment, Ted Cruz is running for president,” Mr. Vance said on NBC News. “At this moment, I’m not. I’m trying to help elect Republicans. That’s what I’m going to keep on doing.”
Another Texan, Gov. Greg Abbott, may also get into the race, according to Mr. Patrick.
“I think Greg Abbott wants to run,” Mr. Patrick said on his podcast. Mr. Abbott, who is running in November for a fourth term as governor, has denied it.
A Harvard/Harris poll released last week showed Mr. Vance continues to lead the pack of possible candidates, but he dropped 5 points from a previous survey among Republicans asked whom they favor to be the next GOP candidate for president.
Mr. Vance won 39% of support, followed by Don Jr., who climbed 6 points from an earlier Harvard/Harris poll to 24%.
Mr. Rubio placed third with 17%. followed by Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., with 9%. Former U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley garnered 5% of support. Ms. Haley, who battled Mr. Trump in the 2024 GOP primary, recently said she won’t run in 2028.
Mr. Kennedy, who dropped his independent presidential campaign in 2024 to support Mr. Trump and is one of the most popular members of his Cabinet, has consistently said he does not plan to run in 2028.
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