Life after Trump: Republicans eye vance, Rubio for Leadership
For a decade, President Donald Trump has been the gravitational force of the American right, but at this year’s Conservative Political Action Conference a pressing question is animating conversations in the hallways: who comes next? At what is billed as the world’s largest conservative meeting, there is no clear consensus — but an early contest is taking shape. For the first time in years, the 79-year-old second-term president is skipping the conference — typically held in Washington, but this year staged in the Dallas suburbs — allowing other Republican stars to step out of his shadow. Across conversations with attendees, Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio stood out as the main contenders to lead a post-Trump Republican Party, with support split in a race that remains wide open. Polling suggests Vance holds a comfortable national lead among Republican voters. But on the ground in Texas, the divide appeared more even — with roughly half backing Vance...