JD Vance’s Running Mate Revealed?

JD Vance’s Running Mate Revealed? A Frontrunner Reportedly Emerges

A longtime former Senate GOP aide told the Daily Mail that “the allure of the VP nominee is often times not what they bring to the table but what they don’t do for the ticket.” The aide added, “you don’t want headaches.”

The comment lands as Missouri Sen. Eric Schmitt draws attention as a possible 2028 running mate for Vice President JD Vance. 

Axios reported Tuesday that Schmitt has built a close relationship with Vance and ranks among the top candidates for the ticket.

Vance views Schmitt as “trustworthy, intelligent, and articulate,” according to the outlet.

Vance has not formally announced a 2028 bid.

The two men served together in the Senate. Their partnership continued after Vance moved into the administration.

Vance now holds the title of White House Fraud Czar, and Schmitt works beside him. 

The pair lead a coordinated legislative and executive push against fraud in federal programs, including COVID-19 relief and healthcare.

After a White House anti-fraud task force meeting earlier this year, Schmitt issued a media release. 

“Vice President Vance has done an incredible job cracking down on fraud and exposing rampant waste, fraud, and abuse of our federal programs,” it said.

Schmitt also described his own role. 

“In the Senate, I am proud to lead the Anti-Fraud Task Force to work alongside this Administration to strengthen federal oversight and hold criminals accountable so we can ensure federal programs actually help Americans in need,” he said.

Schmitt, 51, won his Senate seat in 2022 after serving as Missouri attorney general. 

He has led within the Republican Attorneys General Association, serves as vice chair of the Joint Economic Committee, has held elected office at the state and local level, and has worked as a partner in a private law firm.

Before any of that, he played varsity football and baseball at Truman State University in Kirksville, Missouri, an NCAA Division II school.

Supporters voiced their approval on X. 

Former Florida Rep. Matt Gaetz wrote, “I would support any ambition of Senator Schmitt.” Mike Howell, president of the conservative legal group Oversight Project, called Schmitt a “rockstar” in his own post.

Dan Rene, a conservative communications strategist, told the Daily Mail that “it is way too early to be picking a VP but never too early to have fun speculating.”

Rene said he sees “Schmitt as an interesting candidate because he understands technology and has authentic and authoritative insight into where AI, communications, and the economy are headed.”

“Any ticket will have to effectively communicate about the future instead of re-litigating the past,” Rene concluded.

Schmitt also made news Tuesday in a Senate hearing with former Special Counsel Jack Smith. 

He asked Smith about an Atlanta Hawks game Smith allegedly attended in 2024. Smith said he had no recollection of going.

“I recall going to a university of Maryland basketball game where Caitlin Clark was playing, right around that time, and the Marshall’s service was there with me,” Smith told Schmitt.

Smith then invited the senator to check the date. 

“You can check if that was the exact date, it was Maryland playing Iowa, I think February of 2024, but again, you could check that out if that’s what we’re talking about,” he said.

Sen. Amy Klobuchar jumped in and asked Schmitt whether the University of Iowa is the “Hawkeyes, could that be it?”

Klobuchar told Schmitt, “Maybe before we show this kind of thing,” it could have been looked at “more carefully.” 

She said people should have their “facts straight before they accuse someone of being a dirtbag, and not get the teams wrong.”

She defended Smith directly. “Teams, you had the teams wrong sir,” Klobuchar told Schmitt.

After the hearing, Schmitt responded in comments to the Huffington Post. 

“I don’t know if Jack Smith’s lying or not. It was the only game – Atlanta was the only NBA game or men’s college basketball game that night at 7:30,” he said.

Other names circulate in the vice presidential conversation. 

President Donald Trump has repeatedly floated a Vance and Marco Rubio pairing for 2028, but he has not said which of the two should top the ticket.

Rubio has played down the speculation. 

“I’m not a candidate for anything right now,” he told Colombian broadcaster RCN earlier this month. He added that he is focused on his two roles, as secretary of state and national security adviser.

Representatives for Vance did not respond to the Daily Mail’s requests for comment.

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