Marco Rubio pushed aside as Eric Schmitt gains traction in JD Vance’s potential 2028 VP race

WASHINGTON, DC: Missouri Senator Eric Schmitt has started to pull ahead as the top pick for Vice President JD Vance’s running mate if Vance decides to run for president in 2028, Axios reports.

Schmitt seems to have edged out Secretary of State Marco Rubio for the spot. Vance considers Schmitt “trustworthy, intelligent, and articulate,” according to the report. Before his 2022 Senate win, Schmitt served as Missouri’s attorney general. Although there’s lots of speculation, Vance hasn’t officially announced a 2028 campaign.

Marco Rubio downplays the speculation

"I'm not a candidate for anything right now," Rubio told Colombian broadcaster RCN earlier this month. He added that he is focused on his two roles, as secretary of state and national security adviser.

President Trump keeps bringing up the idea of a Vance-Rubio ticket in 2028, though he never explains which one he thinks should be at the top.

Rubio, for his part, keeps brushing off any speculation that he wants to be someone’s running mate.

Allies rally behind Eric Schmitt

Former Florida Congressman Matt Gaetz backed the idea on X: "I would support any ambition of Senator Schmitt."

Mike Howell, president of the Oversight Project, a conservative legal group, called Schmitt a "rockstar" in his own post on X.

A longtime former senate GOP aide told the Daily Mail that "the allure of the VP nominee is often times not what they bring to the table but what they don't do for the ticket," before adding, "You don't want headaches," indicating that Schmitt could be a drama-free pick. 

A shared fraud-fighting portfolio

Schmitt and Vance started working closely back in their Senate days, and that connection stayed strong after Vance moved into the administration.

Now, they’re at the helm of the White House’s anti-fraud task force, taking aim at scams in federal programs, Covid-19 relief, healthcare, and more. After one of their recent task force meetings, Schmitt didn’t hold back his praise for Vance, openly commending his work. “Vice President Vance has done an incredible job cracking down on fraud and exposing rampant waste, fraud, and abuse of our federal programs.”

Alluding to their work together, Schmitt added, “In the Senate, I am proud to lead the Anti-Fraud Task Force to work alongside this Administration to strengthen federal oversight and hold criminals accountable so we can ensure federal programs actually help Americans in need.”

Before entering politics, Schmitt played varsity football and baseball at Truman State University, an NCAA Division II school in Kirksville, Missouri, and later worked as a private-practice law firm partner before holding elected office at the state and local level.