{"id":22328,"date":"2026-05-06T01:32:23","date_gmt":"2026-05-06T01:32:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bluelightnews.com\/category\/politics\/the-kamala-harris-problem-vances-2028-hopes-hinge-on-trump-iowa-republicans-say\/"},"modified":"2026-05-06T01:32:23","modified_gmt":"2026-05-06T01:32:23","slug":"the-kamala-harris-problem-vances-2028-hopes-hinge-on-trump-iowa-republicans-say","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bluelightnews.com\/category\/politics\/the-kamala-harris-problem-vances-2028-hopes-hinge-on-trump-iowa-republicans-say\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018The Kamala Harris problem\u2019: Vance\u2019s 2028 hopes hinge on Trump, Iowa Republicans say"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

DES MOINES, Iowa \u2014 Vice President JD Vance was greeted warmly by Republicans in Iowa on Tuesday, with would-be caucus goers and strategists optimistically curious about his potential as a 2028 presidential contender.<\/p>\n

But first, they\u2019re hoping he can help turn the economy around.<\/p>\n

Vance’s fate is unavoidably linked to President Donald Trump’s. He’ll either carry the mantle of Trump\u2019s accomplishments all the way into his own term in the White House \u2014 or be dragged down by Trump’s dismal approval ratings, which have spiraled amid an unpopular war in Iran and voters’ economic pessimism.<\/p>\n

During Vance\u2019s first trip as vice president to the early caucus state \u2014 where he was campaigning for Republican Rep. Zach Nunn at a rally in a manufacturing warehouse in this battleground House district \u2014 Vance’s close ties with Trump were on full display. He credited the president repeatedly for tariffs, tax cuts and agriculture industry aid. And he avoided any mention of 2028.<\/p>\n

But his association with Trump’s agenda presents a high-risk, high-reward proposition that could make or break his political future, operatives and rallygoers said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat’s the risk of being part of an administration,\u201d Iowa GOP strategist David Kochel said. \u201cThis is the Kamala Harris problem.\u201d<\/p>\n

Rep. Randy Feenstra, who is running for governor, said in between shaking hands with attendees that Iowans \u201cabsolutely\u201d associate Vance with Trump and expressed confidence that the White House can deliver outcomes that benefit the state.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re all in this together,\u201d he said. \u201cWe trust Trump and the vice president and what they\u2019re doing, and things are going to be great.\u201d<\/p>\n

Republicans in Iowa are loath to turn their back on Trump, the 2024 caucus winner who remains deeply popular among the base. Faded Trump-Vance campaign signs still line the rural roads around the state, and Iowa Republicans said they remained largely optimistic that Trump, with Vance by his side, can steer the economy in the right direction.<\/p>\n

In a brief post-rally interview, Nunn said part of the benefit of the vice president\u2019s trip was allowing Iowa Republican officials to \u201cshare what they want to see out of the next leader in 2028.\u201d<\/p>\n

But Americans\u2019 patience for the administration\u2019s economic policy to have a positive effect is wearing thin. A Washington Post\/ABC News\/Ipsos poll<\/a> released on Sunday found 65 percent of Americans disapprove of Trump\u2019s handling of the economy and 76 percent disapprove of Trump\u2019s handling of cost of living issues. And even as Vance blamed former President Joe Biden\u2019s administration for the teetering economy, an April POLITICO Poll<\/a> found 46 percent of Americans feel Trump bears at least some responsibility for the state of the economy.<\/p>\n

And the economic effects of Trump\u2019s policies are particularly hard felt in Iowa\u2019s vast agriculture industry. Trump\u2019s tariff regime blocked off markets that had been reliable purchasers of U.S. agriculture goods, while the war in Iran has spiked the cost of diesel, which farmers depend on heavily.<\/p>\n

Jake Chapman, a former president of the Iowa Senate who has advised multiple Republican presidential candidates in Iowa, said the conflict and the trade negotiations with other countries are top of mind for Iowa Republicans.<\/p>\n

\u201cA lot of people are thinking about foreign policy in particular, and how that impacts ag inputs and our agriculture economy,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

In his speech, Vance acknowledged that the Trump administration hasn\u2019t fully delivered on its economic promises. \u201cWe got a lot more work to do,\u201d Vance told the crowd of hundreds. \u201cWe recognize that work. We’re excited about that work. That’s why you sent us to Washington, D.C.\u201d<\/p>\n

Still, those negative feelings towards Trump appear to be spilling over to Vance. That same poll found 48 percent of Americans disapprove of Vance \u2014 slightly worse than other senior Trump administration officials, including FBI Director Kash Patel, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and fellow potential 2028 candidate Secretary of State Marco Rubio.<\/p>\n

Rubio\u2019s ascension in the 2028 shadow primary \u2014 both in the eyes of Americans and in standing with Trump\u2019s inner circle<\/a> \u2014 further complicates Vance\u2019s path to the nomination. Eric Branstad, the son of former Iowa Gov. Terry Branstad and adviser to Trump\u2019s three presidential campaigns in Iowa, said Vance\u2019s portfolio may not resonate with Iowans as much as Rubio\u2019s in an administration juggling multiple high-profile foreign conflicts.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey’ve watched the secretary of state completely perform. He’s been put in all of the tough spots, and he has overperformed,\u201d Branstad said. \u201cThe vice president is performing great. It’s just not been as noticeable as the secretary of state.\u201d<\/p>\n

Vance, however, has gotten an early start on building a campaign infrastructure, should he so choose to activate it. He has been a frequent surrogate and fundraiser for the GOP\u2019s midterm operation<\/a> and has campaigned for Republicans in battleground seats around the country. On Tuesday, he voted in Ohio\u2019s competitive 1st District GOP primary and headlined a fundraiser in Oklahoma before travelling to Iowa.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s the man who\u2019s leading the charge to win the midterms,\u201d Nunn said during his remarks.<\/p>\n

Even as Vance stayed focused on this year\u2019s elections on Tuesday, some Republicans are ready to look beyond the midterms. GOP gubernatorial candidate Adam Steen said on the outskirts of the rally he thinks Iowa Republicans are eager to organize around the next generation of party leadership.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t know why not just start talking about 2028,\u201d Steen said. \u201cWe need to know who we\u2019re going to be getting behind. And if they did that now, I don\u2019t think it\u2019d offend anybody. I think it\u2019d be a great thing.\u201d<\/p>\n

The vice president\u2019s office declined to comment on Vance\u2019s thinking about a future presidential campaign.<\/p>\n

Whether or not the vice president can carry the ideological torch for Trump\u2019s political movement may depend on how closely Vance \u2014 or any 2028 hopeful \u2014 can align with Trump. Iowa GOP Chair Jeff Kaufmann said at the rally he doesn\u2019t believe the next Republican presidential nominee necessarily has to appeal directly to Trump\u2019s base to be successful.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Republican Party is multifaceted,\u201d Kaufmann said. \u201cWe have MAGA voters\u2026 We have Christian evangelicals, we have business, we have Libertarians. I think all of them together are going to unite around some of the basic principles that everybody shares.\u201d<\/p>\n

Yet being Trump\u2019s vice president brings certain advantages with Republican voters. Even if Vance isn\u2019t afforded the goodwill that brought the president a dominant wire-to-wire favorite in the 2024 Republican primaries, Kochel said Vance \u201cgets one of the gold tickets\u201d in the contest.<\/p>\n

\u201c[Vance] will be the front-runner going into any caucuses that we have here in Iowa,\u201d GOP governor candidate and state Rep. Eddie Andrews said on the sidelines of Tuesday\u2019s rally.<\/p>\n

But Iowa caucusgoers are notoriously scrupulous when vetting future world leaders. And Nunn acknowledged that Vance will at some point need to forge his own path to leading the party.<\/p>\n

\u201cNobody can walk in Donald Trump’s footsteps, because it’s Donald Trump,\u201d Nunn said.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

DES MOINES, Iowa \u2014 Vice President JD Vance was greeted warmly by Republicans in Iowa on Tuesday, with would-be caucus goers and strategists optimistically curious about his potential as a 2028 presidential contender. But first, they\u2019re hoping he can help turn the economy around. Vance’s fate is unavoidably linked to President Donald Trump’s. He’ll either […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-22328","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-politics"],"amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/bluelightnews.com\/category\/politics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22328","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/bluelightnews.com\/category\/politics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/bluelightnews.com\/category\/politics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bluelightnews.com\/category\/politics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bluelightnews.com\/category\/politics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=22328"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/bluelightnews.com\/category\/politics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22328\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/bluelightnews.com\/category\/politics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=22328"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bluelightnews.com\/category\/politics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=22328"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bluelightnews.com\/category\/politics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=22328"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}