28 Distraction, 28 Days
The number 28 is on my mind today. There are 28 days until election day. And the ’28 presidential campaign is needlessly getting in the way of it.
Recall that we previously discussed how the GOP Midterm Convention in Texas last month skillfully avoided people gossiping about the 2028 race, by making sure Vice President J.D. Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio both did not appear. Rubio was out of the country, so no one could detract from the message of winning in 2026, this year, by comparing how Vance and Rubio each did at the podium.
We did note that 2016 Iowa Caucus winner Ted Cruz was visible during the convention, but it is his home state, after all. Cruz has been active helping 2026 candidates, including two appearances at Iowa events in successive weeks this fall. That has led to obvious speculation about his future.
So far, so good…but now both Vance and Cruz have taken the bait from media and it’s getting in the way of GOP messaging this election—quite important, because if things don’t go a certain way in just four weeks, the 2028 landscape looks far different than it does now.
Vance was asked in an interview about Cruz’s activity…and rather than deflecting the question and putting the focus back on today, the vice president said it was “really obvious” Cruz was running in 2028. When asked about it…rather than deflecting the question and putting the focus back on today, Cruz said that it sounded like the vice president was “insecure”.
Unforced errors, but the type that could start dividing folks at a time when the full effort should be focused on get-out-the-vote efforts for this year. Sure, folks can walk and chew gum at the same time…but why make them?
