Jonathan Last: “Vance had mostly nice things to say about Tim Walz. He wasn’t mean at all. When Walz talked about his son being near a school shooting, Vance expressed his sympathy and said, ‘Christ have mercy’ while shaking his head.”

“He didn’t say MAGA once. He implied that Obamacare was good, while Trump’s official policy still seems to be that it should be repealed. He accepted the reality of climate change and acknowledged that some unnamed Republicans needed to ‘earn back; the trust of Americans on the subject of abortion.”

“He was young and svelte and perfectly deferential to Trump. So perfectly that it felt a little cloyingly. Almost like he was putting the shine on the old man.”

“I doubt Vance did anything meaningful to help Trump’s electoral prospects. But he absolutely helped his own prospects for 2028, or 2032, or whenever Trump leaves the scene.”

“Florida Governor Ron DeSantis is expected to speak at an Iowa Republican Party event during the GOP convention in Milwaukee on Wednesday,” Bloomberg reports.

“DeSantis’ presence at the lunch event is seen as a key sign of his interest in running for president in 2028… Historically, presidential candidates have wooed Iowans during the GOP conventions in advance of their White House bids.”

Wall Street Journal: “Beshear’s talent for projecting compassion, including to Republicans, helps explain how the Democrat pulled off 2023’s most impressive political feat. Last November, Beshear was resoundingly re-elected in his deep-red Southern state, despite facing a strong opponent amid a sour national mood. Kentucky went for Trump by 26 points in 2020 and will likely post similar numbers in this year’s vote. Yet the 46-year-old Beshear, whose mild-mannered demeanor belies his political cunning, has only gotten more popular: In the latest Morning Consult rankings, his 65% approval rating made him the most popular Democratic governor in the country.”

“That record has drawn the attention of national Democrats, who widely see Beshear as a potential contender for the 2028 presidential nomination. Beshear has quietly begun making contact with national donors, and some have made pilgrimages to the state to size him up.”

“Gov. Brian Kemp is no die-hard Donald Trump supporter after clashing with the former president for much of the past three years. And he’s steered clear of increasingly MAGA-fied Georgia GOP events since 2022,” the Atlanta Journal Constitution reports.

“So why is he headed to the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee in July?”

“The second-term governor doesn’t have a formal speaking slot during the four-day event, and he may not get one. But he aims to continue to build his influence, both within and without MAGA world, as he contemplates whether to challenge Democratic U.S. Sen. Jon Ossoff in 2026 or run for president in 2028.”

“Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp sat out the 2024 presidential primary as other ambitious Republicans tried to topple Donald Trump. Now, the popular swing-state governor is building up his political operation, not only helping a handful of candidates in tight across the country, but cultivating influence ahead of his own possible future run,” Politico reports.

“And he will attend the Republican nominating convention in Milwaukee this summer.”

“The Georgia Republican, a rare GOP politician who stood up to Trump and emerged from the tangle unscathed, has maintained that he would support the Republican nominee for president, but had not disclosed any plans to attend the party’s convention this July. Kemp has been particularly selective about his political activities over the last several years, and hasn’t attended a Trump rally since 2020.”

Colorado Gov. Jared Polis (D) “did not rule out a 2028 presidential bid when pressed about his future plans,” Politico reports.

Said Polis: “This is a job a little different than a senator in Congress, where you kind of have a little more time to think about things. You’re really running things day to day in your states. There’s very little time, nor should people in those kinds of positions, to be thinking about three, four years out.”

“After a year of getting roundly humiliated by Donald Trump and failing to unseat him as the leader of the Republican Party, Ron DeSantis finally dropped out of the race and endorsed Trump’s bid to reclaim the White House. But while the former president publicly retired his ‘DeSanctimonious’ nickname, Trump has privately made clear over the past two weeks that he’s not ready to let go of his grudge against the Florida governor and former ally,” Rolling Stone reports.

“According to two sources with knowledge of the matter and another person briefed on it, the former president and 2024 GOP frontrunner has continued to ridicule DeSantis in conversations with close associates, saying that the governor doesn’t have what it takes to be the party’s ‘future.'”

“One of the sources, who has spoken to the ex-president about this topic recently, bluntly characterizes Trump’s attitude on DeSantis’ future as wanting to turn ‘Ron into a political eunuch’ who never gets to be president, much less lead his party. In months past… Trump privately insisted that if DeSantis truly wishes to earn his forgiveness, the Florida governor would have to ‘kiss my ass, a lot.'”

New York Times: “Ms. Harris’s trip, as well as her college tour last year and an ongoing circuit to defend abortion rights and promote the Democratic agenda, also served two larger purposes: working to shore up Mr. Biden’s lingering vulnerabilities with Black voters and young voters, and keeping the first woman and first woman of color to serve as vice president at the forefront for the next presidential contest in 2028.”

Politico: “There was California’s governor, in a distant land — 2,700 miles from home and still not adjusted to Wednesday morning’s Eastern time-zone change, yet finally in the nerve center of early state presidential politicking. And already, some of his party’s most important voters were sizing him up as a White House aspirant — consuming themselves with the distant election when November is still months away. It went beyond his appearance, with some convinced he was too progressive for the South…”

“Newsom wanted to give stump speeches ahead of the state’s new, first-in-the-nation Democratic primary, appearing there for the first time as a headliner and getting early exposure to its powerful blocs of Black voters and rural Democrats. They, meanwhile wanted to test his 2028 chops.”

“On the heels of a decisive electoral victory, Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear (D) has launched a political action committee to assist like-minded politicians across the country,” the Lexington Herald Leader reports.

“Beshear launched In This Together PAC Sunday evening, a political action committee which says it will work to elect ‘good people’ that reject ‘the anger politics that have come to dominate our country.’”

“You never go get high on your own supply. And I’m not thinking about 2028. I am only making sure to prioritize 2024.”

— Sen. John Fetterman (D-PA), when asked by Politico if he would ever run for president.

Politico: “So, who took the pivotal steps in 2023 that set them on the path to the presidency in 2028? It’s not too soon to ask, though that doesn’t make the exercise easy.”

Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) said he expects to run for president again in the future, the Texas Tribune reports.

Said Cruz: “I loved running for president in 2016. We came incredibly close. We came within inches of winning. It’s the most fun I’ve ever had in my life and I fully hope and expect to run again at some point.”

Cruz said he ultimately did not run for president this cycle because the timing didn’t feel right.

“California Gov. Gavin Newsom and Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker recently cut checks for a candidate in this month’s mayoral election in Charleston, S.C.,” Axios reports.

“The moves by Newsom and Pritzker are part of a larger pattern of ambitious Democrats upping their national profiles ahead of 2028 — or even 2024, in the unlikely case President Biden decides not to run for re-election in the face of poor poll numbers.”

Playbook: “We are 85 days away from the Iowa caucuses, and unfortunately for nearly every single Republican candidate not named Donald Trump, the fundamentals of the race haven’t really budged.”

“The GOP base is still largely with the former president. His legal troubles aren’t sending party leaders — or, for that matter, primary voters — running away from him. And his opponents’ campaigns are doing little to inspire confidence that they’ll be able to eke out a win.”

Associated Press: “As Biden faces concerns, including from voters in his own party, about his prospects in a grueling reelection campaign, a new generation of high-profile Democrats are fanning out for the 80-year-old president. Those close to the ambitious Democrats insist they are focused squarely on the 2024 campaign when Biden may face a tough rematch against Donald Trump.”

“But in building their national profiles, they’re also positioning themselves for what could be a contentious 2028 primary — and giving the party something of an insurance policy in case they are suddenly needed next year.”

New York Times: “By all appearances, Mr. Newsom is a man with an eye on the White House, building a national network of supporters and accumulating the kind of good will among donors, party operatives and voters that could prove critical should he decide to move beyond Sacramento. Mr. Newsom said in an interview that he was not running for president, and that the time has come for Democrats to rally around President Biden.”

“But it may be difficult for Mr. Newsom to quiet speculation about his own future. He has spent months positioning himself as one of his party’s leading voices during a time of deep Democratic worry and lingering unease about the political strengths of Mr. Biden, who is 80, and his vice president, Kamala Harris.”

“High-profile Democratic governors are stumping for President Biden’s 2024 re-election campaign and simultaneously auditioning to become the party’s next standard-bearer,” the Wall Street Journal reports.

“Their efforts signal they are unlikely to cede that role in 2028 to Vice President Kamala Harris, whose sluggish approval ratings have raised doubts among some donors and party officials about whether she can effectively succeed Biden.”