Mike Pence Doesn’t Rule Out a 2028 Run After Republicans’ Midterm Losses

Former Vice President Mike Pence declined to say whether he’ll run for president in 2028, after repeatedly saying this year he had no plans to. He said the midterm results showed voters rejected ‘this version of Republicanism.’

By Quinn BallardPublished

As of November 12, 2026.

Former Vice President Mike Pence declined to rule out a 2028 presidential run in an interview published Thursday, saying the party needs to return to traditional conservative principles after its midterm losses.

What Pence said

Asked by Fox News Digital whether he’s considering a run and when he’d decide, Pence didn’t answer directly. He said that unless Republicans return to “a strong defense, limited government, fiscal responsibility and the right to life,” it “won’t matter who we nominate in 2028,” because “this version of Republicanism was just rejected by the American people.”

He said he remembers the last time Republicans lost Congress, in 2006, and has confidence in the party’s congressional leaders. “I don’t know what the future holds,” he said, but his focus is on being “a champion and an advocate for the conservative principles that have defined our party.”

A shift in tone

Pence has repeatedly said this year that he doesn’t expect to run again:

  • May 2026: He told NBC’s “Meet the Press” he had “no active ambition” to reenter politics.
  • June 2026: At a National Press Club event, quoting a country song, he said he had “rode that rocket about as far as it can fly.”
  • September 2026: He told David Rubenstein at the Economic Club of Washington, “What I can tell you is that we have no plans” to run for president or any other office in 2028.

Thursday’s comments stop short of saying he’s considering a run, but they no longer rule one out.

Pence’s place in the party

Pence served as Trump’s vice president from 2017 to 2021. Their relationship broke down after Pence, presiding over Congress’s count of electoral votes on January 6, 2021, rejected Trump’s pressure to block certification of Joe Biden’s victory.

He ran against Trump for the 2024 Republican nomination and dropped out in October 2023 amid weak fundraising and polling. He did not endorse Trump in 2024.

Since then, Pence has led Advancing American Freedom, a conservative policy group, and positioned himself as a voice for traditional conservatism against the party’s populist wing. He has criticized Trump’s tariffs and his approach to Ukraine. He has also praised parts of Trump’s second term, including tax cuts, border enforcement and the decision to strike Iran in February, a war many Republicans now blame for their losses.

In polling of Republican voters, Pence has drawn very little support for 2028. Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio have led recent surveys. (Our look at the 2028 Republican field.)

Sources

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