Vice President JD Vance says he may ultimately decide against seeking the presidency in 2028, with his wife, second lady Usha Vance, and their four young children likely to weigh heavily on that choice.
Vance, currently viewed as the leading contender to replace President Trump as the Republican nominee, acknowledged during a CBS News town hall in Michigan that he might sit out the next presidential race.
“Of course there’s a chance,” Vance said.
“We’ve got four little kids, my wife has never loved politics. She loves public service,” Vance said.
“I think you know you can do a lot of good in this job, and I’ve tried to do as much good as possible.”
The vice president said he has not reached a decision on a potential White House campaign, calling himself a “procrastinator” when faced with major choices.
“The way that I think about life, big life decisions — my wife will tell you this: I’m a procrastinator. I hate thinking about it,” Vance said.
Vance suggested he would take a closer look at the possibility after the November midterm elections, rather than launch into a campaign while the Trump administration remains focused on its current agenda.
His remarks come as he builds an early lead among potential Republican successors to Trump, who has called Vance his “most likely” heir within the party.
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The RealClear Polling average shows Vance with a 15-point lead over Secretary of State Marco Rubio in the Republican primary field. He has 39% support more than two years before the 2028 election, while President Trump’s son, Donald Jr., ranks third at 11%.
A presidential bid would also place Usha Vance in an even more prominent political role. She has previously acknowledged that she and her husband do not always share the same views on political issues.
In a March interview with NBC News, Usha said some of her positions do not fit neatly into conventional political categories.
“Sometimes I have thoughts that fit very comfortably into one side or another,” she said. “Sometimes I have views that are way more idiosyncratic.”
She also described her role as offering personal perspective and feedback, rather than serving as part of her husband’s political operation.
“I’m not his staffer. I’m not involved in this in any professional sense,” Usha said, adding that there is “no exception that we are going to see eye to eye on everything.”
The Vances’ family has expanded in recent months. Their youngest child, son Alec, was born July 19, joining siblings Ewan, 9, Vivek, 6, and Mirabel, 4.
Usha said in March that a 2028 presidential campaign was not yet a priority at home, noting that her husband was concentrating on the midterm elections and the responsibilities of his current position.
“If you come back in 2027 and ask me, I’ll have a better sense of, you know, what he’s thinking in that way,” she told NBC News.
For now, Vance’s political future remains unsettled, even as early polling places him ahead of possible Republican rivals for 2028.