By Townhall Chicago News Staff
Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich said Vice President JD Vance’s path to the 2028 Republican presidential nomination has gotten harder following this week’s midterm election losses, in an interview aired on a Fox-affiliated radio broadcast.
Gingrich said Vance “would have been the presumptive nominee” had Republicans won big in the midterms, but that the field is now “wide open,” with 10 to 20 potential candidates.
“The name I hear the most often is Marco Rubio,” Gingrich said. He said Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, is also building a national following, and said Rubio, who serves as secretary of state, should “focus on being secretary of state” rather than campaign openly, and “let people draft you.”
The program’s host said Vance published a lengthy statement a day earlier attributing the midterm losses to public opposition to the war involving Iran, and said he viewed that explanation as too simple; that assessment was the host’s opinion, not a reported fact.
Several callers to the program weighed in on the 2028 race, though their comments reflect individual opinion rather than polling. A caller identified only as Richard, from Manassas, Virginia, said Republicans need “bigger ideas than whatever Donald Trump is saying today.” A caller identified only as Jake, from Fairfax, Virginia, said Vance “has zero chance in 2028.”
The broadcast did not include comment from Vance’s office on the 2028 race.
