Vance 2028 buzz grows, but looming US midterm battles could sting republican ambitions

US Vice President JD Vance has yet to say whether he will run for the White House in 2028, but a campaign event for Republican midterm candidates in Ohio on Friday (Oct 9) had the feel of a Vance rally. The US VP stepped off Air Force Two and was met with a rapturous reception at an event in a flag-draped airport hangar in Lima. "Man, it feels good to be home," he told the crowd. Unusually for him on the campaign trail, he then went down to greet supporters, including a woman wearing a "Vance 2028" cap.

The midterms themselves, on November 3, present a problem. Polls show that President Donald Trump's unpopularity, the Iran war and the cost of living could cost Republicans their majority in Congress. Ohio, which voted for Trump in the last three presidential elections, has become one of the tightest battlegrounds.

There are close races for Vance's former Senate seat, now held by Jon Husted, and for governor, where former Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy is running. Vance's visit came days after Trump travelled to the state, and the 80-year-old president is due back next week.

Losing Congress could leave Trump facing multiple Democrat-led investigations in his final two years in office. For Vance, losing Ohio could damage a political brand built largely on the blue-collar roots described in his bestselling memoir "Hillbilly Elegy".

Asked how important winning Ohio was to his presidential ambitions, Vance told reporters it had "nothing to do with 2028" and was about how the country is governed.

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The 2028 race will effectively begin the day after the midterms. Vance is widely seen as the frontrunner to succeed Trump, but nothing is settled. Secretary of State Marco Rubio has said he will not run against Vance, though his speech on Western civilisation at the Acropolis in Athens was widely read as a pitch for the job.

Vance is increasingly bringing his family on the campaign trail. His wife, Usha, three of their four children, and their dog Atlas, flew with him to Cincinnati, where he cast an early vote. He also raises money as finance chair of the Republican National Committee, which puts him at the centre of a network of wealthy donors.

News agency AFP reported that Vance is trying to avoid being tied to the outgoing president's policies, a problem Kamala Harris faced in 2024. His speeches have shown more awareness of families' financial strain even as Trump dismisses the "affordability hoax". Vance once compared Trump to Hitler before becoming his running mate.

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On Friday (Oct 9), Vance also distanced himself from Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth over the announcement that a US military firing squad execution would be livestreamed. "I don't know that that's going to happen," he told an AFP reporter, adding that he would not watch.