Among Republicans, Vice President JD Vance appears to be growing more powerful, popular and presidential. However, the overall RealClear poll average gives Vance just a 41 percent favorable rating, with 47 percent unfavorable.

The high-profile vice president is seen in nearly every Oval Office meeting photo, signaling a close relationship with President Trump. Such proximity is deliberate, since the “showman-in-chief” leverages optics more effectively than anyone as a powerful messaging tool.

Although the 2028 presidential campaign is three years away — centuries in political dog years — the 40-year-old Vance is on a trajectory to win the Republican nomination. In a recent Emerson poll, he garnered 46 percent support among registered Republican primary voters for 2028.

That same poll found Vance’s closest Republican rivals were Secretary of State Marco Rubio, supported by 12 percent, and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, at 9 percent. Rubio in 2016 and DeSantis in 2024 both had disastrous presidential runs against Trump and, in the process, alienated the MAGA base. At the time, Rubio and DeSantis were warned by political strategists to wait for more political seasoning in a future presidential cycle. Both paid a price for their unbridled ambition.

Vance knows that his 2028 prospects hinge on Republican success in the 2026 midterms, which will be linked to Trump’s sinking job approval. Therefore, in addition to his demanding day job, the vice president has been in full campaign mode since March, when he was appointed finance chair of the Republican........

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