Midterms campaign trail becomes a Republican 2028 preview

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Top Republican surrogates like Vice President JD Vance and Texas Sen. Ted Cruz are hitting the road to boost their party’s midterm candidates — and offering a glimpse at how they might approach 2028.
Vance has traveled to campaign near-daily this month, especially to states like North Carolina, Ohio, and Michigan. He’s focused on defending the Trump administration’s record while assuring voters that it’s working to lower the cost of living.
Like Vance, Cruz has sought to portray Democrats as too extreme to support, while making sure to add the early-voting states of South Carolina and Iowa to his schedule.
And though administration officials note that Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s recent campaign travels aren’t unusual given his dual role as national security adviser, President Donald Trump unexpectedly brought him onstage in Texas this week — a moment that could fuel a push for Rubio to run.
(Plans for Rubio to join Trump in Ohio today, too, got shifted; online speculation grew regardless.)

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