The race for 2028 is on as Republicans unpack midterm disaster

USA Today · , USA TODAY · 2026-11-06 10:06 UTC

Top contenders eyeing the 2028 Republican primary to replace Donald Trump worked to unpack what went wrong in their party's disastrous midterm election.

WASHINGTON – Vice President JD Vance blamed the midterm shellacking on the war in Iran. Texas Sen. Ted Cruz said an "economic disconnect" also led to sweeping Republican losses. And Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis boasted that his state was the only GOP stronghold to survive the blue tsunami.

After Democrats' midterm rout, the race for 2028 on the Republican side is on.

Top contenders eyeing the 2028 Republican primary to replace Donald Trump worked to unpack what went wrong for their party after a decisive repudiation of Trump in the Nov. 3 midterms. And in their respective critiques, Vance, Cruz and DeSantis started to look beyond the term-limited ‒ and now lame-duck ‒ president who has dominated their party for a decade.

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