Vance, Cruz, head to Iowa on 2026 missions as 2028 GOP race to succeed Trump heats up
Two of the biggest names in the Republican Party are making stops the next few days in Iowa, a key 2026 midterm battleground state whose caucuses, for a half century, have kicked off the GOP's presidential nominating calendar.
Vice President JD Vance and Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas will have the midterms on their minds during their visits, which come with just over six months to go until this year's elections, when Republicans will be defending their slim Senate and razor-thin House majorities.
But the moment the midterms are over, the next presidential race officially gets underway. So the trips by Vance and Cruz may also pay dividends if either move forward and launch 2028 White House runs in the race to succeed term-limited President Donald Trump.
With three competitive House seats as well as what are expected to be close Senate and gubernatorial showdowns, veteran Republican strategist David Kochel said "Iowa’s important."
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"Because of how competitive Iowa looks to be right now... there’s going to be a lot of money coming in and a lot of attention paid and because it’s Iowa, I think we’ll have a pretty healthy parade of 2028 potentials coming through to try to do what they can to help in the midterms," Kochel emphasized. "It’s the best excuse to come to Iowa and get to know people and get seen and road test some messaging."
Cruz heads to Iowa on Friday, where he'll deliver the keynote address at the Annual Spring Kickoff for the Iowa Faith & Freedom Coalition, a very influential Iowa social conservative political advocacy group.
The title of the firebrand conservative senator's speech is "Constitutional Courage — ‘Cruzing’ Toward Victory: A Roadmap for 2026."
Cruz won the 2016 Iowa presidential caucuses, and was runner-up to Trump in that cycle's combustible GOP presidential primaries. The senator took a hard look at making another run in the 2024 cycle before deciding to seek re-election to the Senate.
"There will be plenty of time to make those decisions. I don't have an announcement for you today," Cruz answered when asked by Fox News Digital recently if he was seriously considering another White House campaign.
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But he appears to be laying the groundwork for a possible bid, as he positions himself as a conservative alternative to Vance, who is currently the odds-on favorite to be Trump's MAGA and America First heir.
Cruz has grabbed plenty of attention with his clashes with far-right figures, such as Tucker Carlson, and he's enhanced his already strong standing among conservative leaders and donors. And he's bolstered his grassroots outreach with his popular and widely downloaded podcast, 'Verdict with Ted Cruz.'
Vance stops in Iowa on Tuesday, where he'll appear with Republican Rep. Zach Nunn, who's facing a tough re-election this year in a swing district in southwestern portion of the state.
The trip — Vance's first as vice president to either Iowa or New Hampshire, which follows Iowa and holds the first presidential primary in the GOP's nominating calendar — comes before what is widely expected to be a Vance 2028 campaign for the White House in the race to succeed his boss.
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"He’s going to get a lot exposure and TV coverage," Kochel said of Vance.
Vance has demurred when questioned about 2028, labeling speculation as "premature" and "disloyal" to Trump. He has said he's focused on his job as vice president and on helping Republicans defend their slim Senate and fragile House majorities in the midterms.
But Vance has built a political team of advisers who, if he runs as expected, would quickly build out a presidential campaign.
While Vance is the clear front-runner in the very early 2028 Republican presidential nomination polls, Secretary of State Marco Rubio has seen his support for a possible presidential bid soar this year, thanks to an increase in his responsibilities and public profile, most recently around the U.S. operation in Venezuela and the Iran war.
Rubio — who as a senator from Florida was part of the large field of GOP White House contenders who Trump defeated en route to winning the 2016 presidential election — finished a strong second to Vance last month in the 2028 Republican presidential nomination straw poll at the annual Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC).
Partially fueling Rubio's rise is Trump, who has lavishly praised his secretary of state.
The president recently declared that Rubio would go down as "the greatest secretary of state in history."
Trump has also promoted a Vance-Rubio ticket — calling it "unstoppable" a few months ago—but has not said who should be at the top of the ticket.
But the president did say last year that Vance is "most likely" his heir apparent. "In all fairness, he's the vice president," Trump added.
Rubio told Vanity Fair late last year, "If JD Vance runs for president, he's going to be our nominee, and I'll be one of the first people to support him."
Regardless, Republican sources earlier this year confirmed to Fox News that a group of GOP donors who support the secretary of state are quietly working on ways to boost Rubio's political profile.
That's not sitting well with some in the president's political orbit.
"Vice President Vance is the future of the Republican Party and Marco Rubio is one of his closest friends in the administration," an operative in Trump's political orbit told Fox News.
"The divisive stories from some donors trying to cause chaos are not helpful," the operative, who asked to remain anonymous to speak more freely, emphasized.
Vance has also weighed in, telling Fox News' Martha MacCallum in February that "Marco is my closest friend in the administration."
And the vice president, in an interview on Fox News' "The Story," said, "I think it's so interesting the media wants to create this conflict where there just isn't any conflict."
In addition to Vance, Cruz, and Rubio, political pundits consider a number of other well-known Republican politicians as possible 2028 presidential contenders.
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They are Govs. Ron DeSantis of Florida, Brian Kemp of Georgia, Sarah-Huckabee Sanders of Arkansas, former Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin, and Sens. Tom Cotton of Arkansas, Josh Hawley of Missouri, and Rick Scott of Florida.
Also not to be ignored is Rep. Byron Donalds of Florida, a MAGA champion who's running for governor this year.
Then there is Donald Trump Jr., the president-elect's eldest son and MAGA warrior. However, the younger Trump is very close to Vance, which would likely prevent him from making any White House bid in the next cycle.