Inside the Trump administration, a quiet shift is taking place. According to a Politico report, Secretary of State Marco Rubio has been telling confidants behind closed doors that Vice President JD Vance is the frontrunner for the Republican presidential nomination in 2028. Rubio is not just commenting as an observer. Politico reports he is ready to back Vance if he chooses to run.
“Marco has been very clear that JD is going to be the Republican nominee if he wants to be,” said a person close to Rubio, adding that Rubio has expressed this privately and publicly.
The source also said Rubio intends to help Vance in every way possible. In Politico’s words, Rubio has said he “will do anything he can just to support the vice president in that effort.”
For Rubio, a former presidential candidate with national fundraising networks and deep foreign policy experience, that is a notable admission. Less than a year into Trump’s return to the White House, senior Republicans are already thinking about the post-Trump era. Rubio appears to have made up his mind on who should inherit the movement.
Trump himself has encouraged the idea. Politico notes that the president has repeatedly pointed to Vance and Rubio as his most likely successors and even suggested that the two could run on the same ticket. Both men insist there is no rivalry. They talk often, they meet for lunch, and they have worked together on legislation, including a bill on defense production.
“No one expects Marco to resign from the Cabinet and start taking potshots at the sitting vice president,” said another person familiar with the dynamic. “Beyond that, they’re friends.”
A third person close to the White House put it even more plainly. The expectation, they said, is “JD as nominee and Rubio as VP.”
Politico’s reporting backs up the idea that Vance has the support of voters as well, not only insiders. Among Republicans who voted for Trump in 2024, Vance is the leading choice for the 2028 nomination.
Poll from Politico (conducted October 18 to 21):
- 35 percent say JD Vance is the person they want to see run in 2028
- Only 2 percent named Rubio
- 28 percent said Trump himself
- 16 percent were undecided or did not want anyone
These numbers matter because they show that among voters already loyal to Trump, Vance is emerging as the preferred successor. Rubio is backing the person who currently holds the lead.
The atmosphere inside the GOP has become more urgent after Tuesday’s elections, where the party underperformed. Politico reports that some Republicans are worried that without Trump at the top of the ticket, enthusiasm collapses. That reality has accelerated talk of who can carry the banner in 2028.
James Blair, Trump’s political director during the 2024 campaign, offered a warning to anyone who is already eyeing the next contest. “If you’re a Republican that wants to run in 2028 right now, you need to focus on keeping Republicans in power for 2026,” he told Politico. “Voters will sniff out anybody who has seemed to be sort of focused on themselves.”
For now, Vance and Rubio say they are not focused on future campaigns. Vance told the New York Post’s podcast that Rubio is his “best friend in the administration,” adding that they try to get lunch every couple of weeks just to catch up. He acknowledged that Trump has mentioned the idea of a joint ticket. “I mentioned it to the secretary in jest,” Vance said, “but it feels so premature, because we’re still so early.”
Even so, it is rare to see this much clarity so far ahead of a presidential primary. Rubio has been direct in private conversations. Party insiders are acknowledging the same thing. Vance is the one Republicans are coalescing around, and Rubio appears willing to help clear the path.
The succession conversation has begun.