Vance, DeSantis make quick moves after disastrous GOP midterms jumpstart 2028 race

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Vice President JD Vance’s seemingly straightforward path to succeeding President Donald Trump suddenly looks much murkier.

The Republican shellacking in Tuesday’s midterm elections has quickly triggered a public reckoning within the GOP over Trump’s place in the future of the party — one that threatens to complicate Vance’s efforts to consolidate party support behind a widely anticipated White House bid.

Vance appeared to recognize the danger Wednesday morning, blaming the party’s sweeping losses on the war with Iran and distancing himself from Trump’s unpopular foreign policy decisions. In a lengthy post on X , Vance appeared to sketch out what the foundations for his own 2028 platform, centered on ending the war, tackling affordability, refocusing on domestic challenges and reconsidering America’s relationship with Israel.

“To the people who are just pissed at the results, you should be,” he wrote. “Let’s take that anger and get back to the work of saving our country.”

But there are already signs that there may be a widening lane for someone outside the administration to seize the nomination in 2028.

Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich wrote Wednesday on X that “the scale of the Republican defeat is so great that it makes the race for the GOP presidential nomination wide open.” In the post, he ripped Vance for defending an ad from Ohio Republican gubernatorial candidate Vivek Ramaswamy that featured the estranged mother of his Democratic opponent, Amy Acton. The ad received bipartisan blowback and on Tuesday, Acton defeated Ramaswamy.

“A good bit of the luster has come off the bloom,” Gingrich wrote.

Bob Vander Plaats, an influential conservative leader in Iowa, where Republicans will have the first say in choosing their next nominee, predicted the losses would embolden presidential hopefuls from across the party to test the waters. By next year, he said, the field could rival the crowded 2016 Republican primary.

“There are a lot of people now who will be making the case they can take this baton and move us forward,” Vander Plaats said.

A longtime Republican operative in New Hampshire, who asked not to be named, said the prospect of Vance running as a third Trump term looks increasingly “problematic” after Tuesday. The operative also expected voters in the nation’s first primary will give other candidates a serious look.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, in particular, has wasted little time seizing the party’s historic defeats to revive interest in his own political future. DeSantis unsuccessfully challenged Trump for the GOP nomination in 2024 and, before Tuesday, had seen his stock diminish as his time in public office came to a close.

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But DeSantis in recent days has received renewed attention for his pointed critique of Trump’s second stint in Washington.

In a lengthy interview with Stephen A. Smith released on the eve of the election, DeSantis accused the Trump administration of gaslighting voters, failing to tackle Washington corruption and botching its immigration rollout. He challenged Republicans to rethink their relationship with Big Tech and heed growing concerns about data centers and artificial intelligence — a notable shot at an industry that is close to Vance.

On Wednesday, DeSantis called the midterms an “extinction-level event for Republicans,” while touting that Florida “was able to hold the line.” Republican nominees for governor and Senate narrowly survived, but DeSantis’ efforts to net his party more congressional seats via redistricting appears to have fallen short.

Several people involved in DeSantis’ 2024 presidential campaign told CNN that his movements in the past 48 hours were interpreted within his orbit as keeping the door open to another White House bid. On Wednesday, DeSantis declined to discuss his future and told CNN he will “be a free man” in January.

DeSantis wasn’t the only ambitious Republican rushing to rationalize the midterm losses. Texas Sen. Ted Cruz, who, said Wednesday on his popular “Verdict” podcast after his state saw massive GOP losses that “too many in politics dismissed” affordability concerns — an issue Trump himself regularly insisted was a manufactured problem.

“Understandably people were pissed off and elected Republicans didn’t do enough to address their very real pain,” he said.

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Meanwhile, outgoing Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp, a Trump antagonist, on Wednesday laid out his own vision for the party centered on the “conservative principles of our party.”

“It’s time we get back to those principles in the months and years to come,” Kemp wrote.

A GOP operative in neighboring South Carolina, another early-nominating state, told CNN after seeing Kemp’s post: “He’s running.” The person noted that Kemp recently appeared in the Palmetto State to help campaign for the Republican gubernatorial candidate there, Attorney General Alan Wilson, who won on Tuesday.

To be sure, Vance remains the clear front-runner for the GOP nomination. Primary voters typically are considerably deferential to vice presidents. Vance would bring other advantages to a protracted nomination battle, including a close relationship with the party’s biggest donors after serving as Republican National Committee finance chair for the past 20 months.

He also has the backing of Turning Point USA, the organization founded by the late conservative activist Charlie Kirk, that is seen as a turnkey political operation for Vance if he wants it. However, the group’s political influence took a hit in the midterms as well. Republicans suffered heavy losses in states where the group is especially active, and it went all-in on Republican Andy Biggs, who is on track to the lose the Arizona governor race by double digits. A spokesman for Turning Point didn’t return a request for comment.

Vance presumably would run with Trump’s support — an endorsement Vance recently said he expects to receive but has yet to come. Trump does not appear especially eager to pass the torch and has at times floated other names as potential successors, most notably Secretary of State Marco Rubio.

The former Florida senator remains of favorite of many establishment figures in the GOP and has created new fans among the MAGA faithful, but it’s not clear that he wants to run and has said in the past he wouldn’t go up against Vance. As a key player in Trump’s administration, especially on foreign policy, Rubio could face similar headwinds as Vance running to succeed him.

Despite his platform-like statement Wednesday, it isn’t a sure thing that Vance will seek the nomination either. Vance himself has said he would wait until after the midterms to make that decision and close allies have publicly and privately suggested that Tuesday’s outcome is likely to factor into that calculus.

Trump said Wednesday he remains in the dark on Vance’s plans.

“Maybe he won’t run,” Trump said as he showed off construction for his White House ballroom. “I don’t know who is going to run.”

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If Vance ultimately forgoes a White House bid, a chaotic race to replace Trump would surely follow. Several members of Trump’s own Cabinet harbor presidential ambitions – including Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth – and it’s unclear they would run unless Vance decided against it. Hegseth is also facing renewed criticism from his party over the war with Iran and could face an impeachment vote in the House as soon as next week, CNN reported Wednesday .

The political movements of conservative commentator Tucker Carlson remain a source of intrigue among Republicans as well. Carlson, a close friend of Vance, remains publicly supportive of the vice president and has said he won’t seek the presidency. But he has also floated the creation of a third party, and supporters like former Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene have encouraged him to run.

In Iowa, as voters weighed in on the midterms, some future caucus-goers were already ready to look beyond Trump as they consider who replaces him.

“I want to get away from that idea of ‘Trump Republican,’ and just get back to Republican-conservative,” said David McDonald, a 59-year-old meat cutter from Des Moines told CNN.

Marion, Iowa, retiree Rich Sidman acknowledged the future of the GOP will come down to how Trump fares over the next two years.

“It’s all about the economy, the economy, the economy,” Sidman said.

He’s bullish, though, on Vance after seeing him speak during the vice president’s recent campaign swing through Iowa. And if the caucuses were today, that’s who Sidman would vote for.

What about DeSantis — who made Iowa a second home in 2023 as he tried to seize the party from Trump?

Sidman thought for a moment, then said: “I wouldn’t mind seeing DeSantis either.”

CNN’s Dianne Gallagher, Betsy Klein and Patrick Svitek contributed to this report.

汤姆·布伦纳/盖蒂图片社

副总统JD Vance原本看似顺畅的接替唐纳德·特朗普总统的道路，突然变得扑朔迷离起来。

周二中期选举中共和党遭遇惨败，迅速引发了共和党内部对特朗普在该党未来地位的公开反思——这可能会使万斯巩固党内支持、力图入主白宫的努力变得复杂化。

周三上午，万斯似乎意识到了危险，他将民主党惨败归咎于伊朗战争，并与特朗普不得人心的外交政策决策划清界限。在X网站上发表的一篇长文中，万斯似乎概述了他2028年竞选纲领的核心内容：结束战争、解决住房负担能力问题、重新聚焦国内挑战以及重新审视美国与以色列的关系。

“对于那些对结果感到愤怒的人，你们理应如此，”他写道。“让我们把这份愤怒转化为动力，重新投入到拯救我们国家的行动中。”

但已有迹象表明，政府以外的人或许有机会在 2028 年获得提名。

前众议院议长纽特·金里奇周三在X网站上发文称，“共和党惨败的规模如此之大，以至于共和党总统候选人提名之争变得扑朔迷离。” 他在文中抨击了万斯，因为万斯为俄亥俄州共和党州长候选人维韦克·拉马斯瓦米的一则广告辩护，该广告使用了拉马斯瓦米民主党对手艾米·阿克顿疏远的母亲的镜头。这则广告遭到了两党人士的强烈反对，最终，阿克顿在周二的选举中击败了拉马斯瓦米。

“这朵花的光泽已经褪去了很多，”金里奇写道。

鲍勃·范德普拉茨是爱荷华州一位颇具影响力的保守派领袖，共和党将在爱荷华州率先提名下一任总统候选人。他预测，此次选举的失利将鼓舞全党各路总统候选人试探民意。他表示，到明年，共和党总统候选人的竞争格局可能会与2016年共和党初选时一样拥挤。

“现在有很多人会证明他们可以接过这根接力棒，带领我们前进，”范德普拉茨说。

一位不愿透露姓名的新罕布什尔州资深共和党人士表示，周二的初选之后，万斯竞选特朗普第三任期的可能性越来越“成问题”。这位人士还预计，在全国首场初选中，选民们会认真考虑其他候选人。

佛罗里达州州长罗恩·德桑蒂斯尤其迅速地利用共和党历史性的惨败来重振人们对他政治前途的关注。德桑蒂斯曾挑战特朗普角逐2024年共和党总统候选人提名，但最终落败。在周二之前，随着他公职生涯的临近尾声，他的支持率也逐渐下滑。

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但近几天来，德桑蒂斯因其对特朗普第二次执政华盛顿的尖锐批评而再次受到关注。

在选举前夕发布的一段与斯蒂芬·A·史密斯的深度访谈中，德桑蒂斯指责特朗普政府误导选民、未能解决华盛顿的腐败问题，以及移民政策的失败。他呼吁共和党人重新审视与大型科技公司的关系，并重视人们对数据中心和人工智能日益增长的担忧——这显然是在暗指与万斯关系密切的科技行业。

周三，德桑蒂斯称中期选举对共和党来说是“一场灭绝性的事件”，同时又吹嘘佛罗里达州“守住了阵地”。共和党州长和参议员候选人勉强保住了席位，但德桑蒂斯试图通过重新划分选区为共和党赢得更多国会席位的努力似乎失败了。

多位参与德桑蒂斯2024年总统竞选的人士告诉CNN，他过去48小时的举动被其身边的人解读为仍在为再次竞选总统敞开大门。周三，德桑蒂斯拒绝讨论他的未来，并告诉CNN他将在明年1月“重获自由”。

德桑蒂斯并非唯一一位急于为中期选举失利辩解的雄心勃勃的共和党人。德克萨斯州参议员特德·克鲁兹周三在他颇受欢迎的播客节目“判决”（Verdict）中表示，德克萨斯州共和党遭遇惨败后，“太多政客忽视了”住房负担能力问题——而特朗普本人却一直坚称这个问题是人为制造出来的。

他说：“人们感到愤怒是可以理解的，而当选的共和党人并没有采取足够的措施来解决他们切实存在的痛苦。”

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与此同时，即将卸任的佐治亚州州长布莱恩·坎普（Brian Kemp）是特朗普的反对者，他于周三阐述了自己对共和党的愿景，其核心是“我们党的保守原则”。

“在未来的几个月和几年里，我们应该回归这些原则，”肯普写道。

邻近的南卡罗来纳州（另一个早期提名州）的一位共和党人士在看到坎普的帖子后告诉CNN：“他要参选了。”这位人士指出，坎普最近曾到访南卡罗来纳州，帮助该州共和党州长候选人、现任总检察长艾伦·威尔逊助选，威尔逊已于周二赢得州长选举。

可以肯定的是，万斯仍然是共和党总统候选人提名的明显领跑者。初选选民通常对副总统候选人相当尊重。万斯在旷日持久的提名战中还能带来其他优势，例如，过去20个月担任共和党全国委员会财务主席期间，他与党内最大的捐款人保持着密切联系。

他还得到了“美国转折点”（Turning Point USA）的支持。该组织由已故保守派活动家查理·柯克（Charlie Kirk）创立，被视为万斯（Vance）的现成政治运作工具。然而，该组织的政治影响力在中期选举中也遭受了打击。共和党在“美国转折点”尤其活跃的几个州都遭遇了惨败，而且该组织还全力支持共和党候选人安迪·比格斯（Andy Biggs），但比格斯在亚利桑那州州长竞选中很可能以两位数的差距落败。“美国转折点”的发言人没有回复置评请求。

万斯很可能会得到特朗普的支持——万斯最近表示他预计会得到特朗普的支持，但目前尚未得到证实。特朗普似乎并不急于交棒，他曾多次提及其他潜在继任者，其中最引人注目的是国务卿马可·卢比奥。

这位前佛罗里达州参议员仍然是共和党许多建制派人士的宠儿，并在“让美国再次伟大”（MAGA）的忠实拥趸中赢得了不少支持，但他是否参选尚不明朗，而且他过去也曾表示不会与万斯竞争。作为特朗普政府的关键人物，尤其是在外交政策方面，卢比奥在竞选接班人时可能会面临与万斯类似的阻力。

尽管万斯周三发表了一份类似竞选纲领的声明，但他是否会寻求提名仍未可知。万斯本人曾表示，他会在中期选举结束后再做决定，而他的亲密盟友也公开或私下暗示，周二的选举结果很可能会影响他的最终决定。

特朗普周三表示，他对万斯的计划仍然一无所知。

“也许他不会参选，”特朗普一边展示白宫宴会厅的施工情况一边说道，“我不知道谁会参选。”

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如果万斯最终放弃竞选总统，那么一场混乱的总统继任者之争势必随之而来。特朗普内阁的多位成员都怀有总统抱负，包括卫生与公众服务部部长小罗伯特·F·肯尼迪和国防部长皮特·赫格塞斯，除非万斯决定不参选，否则他们是否会参选尚不明朗。据美国有线电视新闻网（CNN）周三报道，赫格塞斯还因伊朗战争而面临党内新一轮的批评，最早可能在下周就面临众议院的弹劾投票。

保守派评论员塔克·卡尔森的政治动向也一直令共和党人感到好奇。卡尔森是副总统万斯的密友，他公开支持万斯，并表示自己不会竞选总统。但他同时也提出了组建第三党的想法，而像前众议员玛乔丽·泰勒·格林这样的支持者则鼓励他参选。

在爱荷华州，随着选民们对中期选举进行投票，一些即将参加党团会议的选民已经准备好将目光投向特朗普之外，考虑谁来接替他。

“我想摆脱‘特朗普共和党人’的那种想法，回归共和党保守派，”来自得梅因的 59 岁肉类切割工大卫·麦克唐纳告诉 CNN。

爱荷华州马里恩市的退休人士里奇·西德曼承认，共和党的未来将取决于特朗普在未来两年的表现。

“一切都与经济有关，经济，经济，”西德曼说。

不过，在看过副总统最近在爱荷华州的竞选活动中范斯的演讲后，西德曼对范斯非常看好。如果今天举行党团会议，西德曼会投票给范斯。

那么德桑蒂斯呢？他曾试图在 2023 年从特朗普手中夺取民主党控制权，并将爱荷华州视为自己的第二个家。

西德曼想了一会儿，然后说：“我也不介意见见德桑蒂斯。”

CNN的Dianne Gallagher、Betsy Klein和Patrick Svitek对本报道亦有贡献。