Republicans Begin Weighing Post-Trump Leadership as Vance and Rubio Emerge

As Donald Trump continues to shape the Republican Party, discussions at this year’s Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) are increasingly centered on a looming question: who will lead the party after him?

Held in the Dallas suburbs and regarded as the largest conservative gathering globally, CPAC this year notably proceeded without Trump’s presence for the first time in years, allowing other Republican figures to gain visibility.

Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio have emerged as the most frequently mentioned potential successors, though attendees remain divided and no definitive frontrunner has emerged at the conference.

While national polling suggests Vance holds an advantage among Republican voters, sentiment among CPAC attendees appeared more evenly split between the two figures, with both attracting strong support.

“I have the utmost confidence in both JD Vance and Marco Rubio to lead the country,” said Suzy Phillips, 68, a retired nurse from Dallas. “They would be my top two.”

Vance’s popularity is often attributed to his alignment with Trump’s political ideology as well as his personal narrative, which includes rising from a childhood marked by poverty in Appalachia.

Supporters describe him as articulate and relatable. “He’s very articulate, very educated,” said Laura McGarraugh, 52, an emergency room nurse from Austin. “He’s a little more diplomatic than Trump.”

Rubio, on the other hand, draws support from voters who prioritize experience and foreign policy expertise. “Marco Rubio is an outstanding statesman,” said Brian Su, 60, a consultant from Chicago. “He has a very clear vision of dealing with international relations.”

Phillips also expressed a preference for Rubio, pointing to his diplomatic background and personal story as the son of immigrants.

Despite differing views, both candidates are largely evaluated within the context of Trump’s political legacy, with neither seen as breaking away from the movement he built. Instead, they are widely regarded as competing inheritors of Trumpism.

This dynamic has limited the emergence of alternative contenders, although some attendees mentioned figures such as Florida Governor Ron DeSantis.

A few participants even speculated about Trump potentially returning to office, despite constitutional constraints on a third term.

The continued centrality of Trump in these discussions highlights the challenge facing the Republican Party as it begins to contemplate its future leadership.

“We’re hoping he will go for four more years,” Phillips said. “But we have to face the fact that we’re facing the end of the Trump era.”

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