Vice President JD Vance will take center stage on the final night of the Republican midterm convention on Thursday, giving him another opportunity to cement his standing as the early favorite to inherit President Donald Trump’s political movement in 2028. But before Vance delivers the keynote address in Dallas, another potential successor will get his turn: Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX).
The back-to-back appearances will offer an early glimpse of a potential 2028 rivalry — and the larger fight over what the Republican Party will look like after Trump. Vance has emerged as the leading heir to Trump’s populist brand of conservatism, while Cruz is carving out a more traditional fiscally conservative lane and increasingly challenging the notion that the vice president should be treated as the presumptive nominee.
The divide extends beyond economics. Cruz has increasingly positioned himself as an outspoken opponent of antisemitism on the Right while pushing back on the notion that Vance should be treated as the presumptive 2028 Republican nominee. Vance has also denounced antisemitism within the conservative movement but has resisted calls to distance himself from former Fox News host Tucker Carlson.
Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH) told the Washington Examiner that he believes Cruz is “definitely going to run” in 2028, adding that he and any other Republican hopefuls would be “a zillion times better” than whichever candidate Democrats end up nominating.
For Vance, however, Thursday night presents a more immediate challenge. Vance will address thousands of supporters who are worried that Trump’s sagging approval numbers, a prolonged Iran war, and voter apathy could hand back control of one or both chambers of Congress to Democrats.
Denise McAllister Randall, a Dallas resident and alternate delegate to the convention, told the Washington Examiner that Vance’s “biggest challenge right now is keeping the focus on what we’re trying to do and on the president’s agenda that’s at hand because I think that’s what even he was elected to do.”
“I hope, while he may in the back of his mind be concentrating on 2028, stays focused on what we have at hand,” she added. “A lot of Americans, you know, they want to see some things end, with what’s going on with I’ll say the conflict or whatever, but we know he has a purpose right now, so I hope he’s going to be motivational in that aspect as well.”
Polls show Vance comfortably in the lead of a 2028 Republican primary. The New York Times’s poll composite shows Vance at 43%, more than 20 points above Secretary of State Marco Rubio at 21%, while Cruz is polling at 4%. Rubio, notably, is not addressing the convention.
Yet Trump has also not moved to block Republicans from challenging Vance. When peppered by reporters, Trump has praised both Cruz and War Secretary Pete Hegseth but stopped short of endorsing a future White House run.
The November midterm elections will also likely shape the 2028 field. If Republicans face a wipeout and Trump is blamed, more GOP lawmakers could launch White House bids as a non-MAGA candidate. But if Republicans can hold off a disastrous night, the GOP could move quickly to coalesce around Vance.
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Cruz’s fellow Texans, however, are cheering him on.
“I think Ted Cruz is going to have a chance, just like everybody else,” added Tano Tijerina, a Republican candidate running to flip Rep. Henry Cuellar’s (D-TX) seat. “And being a Texas boy, I think he’s going to do it.”
Hailey Bullis contributed to this report.