Hawley rules out 2028 White House bid

Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) on Tuesday ruled out launching a 2028 presidential bid , with less than 18 months before the Iowa caucuses.

“I have no intention of doing so, period,” Hawley told the Washington Examiner .

The Missouri Republican, whose term ends in 2031, has occupied a populist lane within the GOP, calling for strict antitrust enforcement against large corporations and backing labor unions — while maintaining socially conservative views on issues such as abortion .

“No antitrust exemptions for AI [artificial intelligence]. Not a chance,” Hawley wrote Tuesday on social platform X.

Vice President Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio lead the lion’s share of early polls of the Republican field, although neither have announced a run.

Vance said in June that he will discuss a presidential run with his wife, second lady Usha Vance, after the November midterms. The two welcomed their fourth child in July.

“The way I make decisions is, I try not to make them until I absolutely must,” the vice president told host Robert Costa on “ CBS Sunday Morning .”

Rubio, who unsuccessfully sought the GOP presidential nomination in 2016, also told RCN last week he has “ no plans ” to run as of now

“I’m not a candidate for anything right now, and I’m 100 percent focused on my job,” the secretary of state said in Spanish.

Some of Hawley’s Senate GOP colleagues have expressed interest in running , including Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas), and libertarian Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.), both of whom also ran in 2016.’

Regarding the 2028 presidential race, Hawley told the Examiner he had “no insight to offer” on the matter.

“I don’t know who will run or what will happen. We need to get through these elections first,” he added, referring to the midterms .

The senator, though, had one warning for 2028 GOP contenders: Do not ignore religious conservatives.

“You cannot win anything without them. You cannot win a primary without them. You cannot win a general election without them,” he told the outlet, putting evangelical Protestants, conservative Catholics and conservative Orthodox Jews in that bloc.

“So, I’d be real careful about trying to marginalize that coalition,” Hawley added later.