Santorum to Newsmax: Washington Already 'Buzzing' on 2028 Race

Although the next presidential election is more than three years away, political analyst Rick Santorum told Newsmax on Sunday that Washington is "already buzzing" about who might be next in line for the White House after President Donald Trump.

"It's because that's what politicians do," Santorum, a former GOP senator from Pennsylvania, said on Newsmax's "Sunday Report." "They talk about who's next in line, and Washington is already buzzing about who's positioning themselves to be in that pole position."

Vice President JD Vance is already in good shape for the nomination, even though he said last week that he's focusing on the present rather than the 2028 race, said Santorum.

However, if the Trump administration continues to do well, that could put its central figures in contention, such as Secretary of State Marco Rubio, he added.

"He has been a lot more high-profile than JD Vance has in the last six months," said Santorum.

Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. also should not be counted out, nor should Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard, the former senator added.

"There's a whole bunch of folks out there who are not traditional, but may be MAGA-type Republicans who would be running," he said.

Rubio's current assignments, Santorum added, may give him a higher public profile than Vance.

"He has issues that he is actually controlling and things he's accomplishing," he said. "He's managing world affairs in many respects. So yeah, I think that puts you in a much better position of certainly experience and gravitas than someone who's vice president. Vice president is a great place to be, but you don't have a lot of jobs and you can't really chalk up a lot of wins sitting over, you know, across the street in the Executive Office Building."

Turning to the Democrat side, Santorum said potential nominees would likely come from the ranks of governors, though he expressed doubts about the current field's ability to appeal broadly.

"Big-state governors have an opportunity to accomplish things, to build a record, but the problem is the record is terrible," he said, noting Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker and California Gov. Gavin Newsom.

"I mean, people are leaving their states, and they're having a lot of their policies thrown out in court or being overturned," said Santorum. "I just don't see anybody rising to the forefront, like [former President Bill] Clinton, who can bridge the gap between the left and the right within the Democratic Party."

This means, since there is "so little left of the middle" of the Democratic Party that the nominee will be a "[Vermont Sen.] Bernie [Sanders] bro-socialist type, because that's where the party is right now," he said.

Santorum added that he does not think former Vice President Kamala Harris, the last Democratic Party presidential nominee, will be able to mount a successful campaign.

"I can't imagine there's much of an appetite for the Democratic Party to put someone who performs so poorly as a candidate and who, as we know, prior to being selected vice president, performed poorly in primaries," he said.

"I just don't think she's going to be able to attract the money to run a campaign, and she certainly doesn't have the chops personally to be able to run sort of a grassroots, people-oriented campaign," Santorum added. "She's just not that good of a candidate. So, unless she has the money, she has no chance."

GET TODAY NEWSMAX+:

NEWSMAX is the fastest-growing cable news channel in America with more than 30 million people watching!

Reuters Institute reports NEWSMAX is one of the top news brands in the U.S.

You need to watch NEWSMAX today.

Get it with great shows from Rob Schmitt, Greta Van Susteren, Greg Kelly, Carl Higbie, Rob Finnerty – and many more!

Find the NEWSMAX channel on your cable system – Go Here Now

BEST OFFER:

Sign up for NEWSMAX+ and get NEWSMAX, our streaming channel NEWSMAX2 and our military channel World at War.

Find hundreds of shows, movies and specials.

Even get Jon Voight's special series and President Trump's comedy programs and much more!

Watch NEWSMAX+ on your smartphone or home TV app.

Watch NEWSMAX anytime, anywhere!