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As usual, CPAC is replete with bedazzled Trump attire, ivermectin advertisements and live podcasts. It is, after all, a place where the Republican Party’s most fervent — and sometimes eccentric — grassroots loyalists mingle and energize the party faithful.

But this year, an uncomfortable feeling is creeping through the conference: For the first time in a decade, Republicans are being forced to contemplate life after President Donald Trump, and consider whom they want to take the reins of the MAGA movement.

Although Trump still has nearly three years left in his second term, some Republicans are breaking with the president on issues like the war with Iran — a discontent that even reared its head at CPAC, where speakers like Steve Bannon and former Rep. Matt Gaetz criticized U.S. military action in the Middle East.

And although CPAC attendees all praised the president, some said they were already sizing up his potential successors. (On Saturday, CPAC will release its highly unscientific but headline-grabbing straw poll of whom attendees support for 2028.)

Unsurprisingly, two names came up most frequently in discussions: Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio.

“Either of them would be great,” said James Payne, a retired military officer, though he admitted that both would feel like a drop-off from Trump: “His successors are mortal men.”

It is still very, very early, and how Republican voters broadly view Rubio and Vance — if both decide to run — depends partly on what happens the next couple of years. But attendees at CPAC seemed to fall generally into two camps: Those who supported a more aggressive approach to intervening in world affairs tended to favor Rubio, while those who preferred an anti-intervention mindset generally backed Vance.

As John Kent and Alex Johnson stood next to each other at a booth in the CPAC exhibition hall where they were tallying attendees’ support for the Iran war — drop a pinto bean in the “yes” or “no” jars — they acknowledged that they disagreed about both the war and their 2028 pick.

“I’m not sure Vance is ready — he’s kind of young,” said Kent, who is pro-war. (Vance is 41, while Rubio is 54.) “Rubio, he’s got more experience; he’s been around a little bit longer. And maybe his Latin roots will play a part in getting elected.”

Johnson, who is anti-war, favored Vance: “Rubio is a bit more hawkish when it comes to foreign policy,” he said, while the vice president “has American interests at heart.”

Some suggested a joint Vance-Rubio ticket, with the vice president at the top. And others threw out a handful of dark-horse names: Gov. Ron DeSantis of Florida taking a second shot at the presidency after his 2024 run flamed out, or former Gov. Glenn Youngkin of Virginia giving it a go. (Tucker Carlson and Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky were also mentioned, but with derision.)

For Peter Bower, it was too early — and, perhaps, too painful — to consider any Republican other than Trump.

“Who knows?” he said. “Maybe the American people will be smart enough to change the Constitution so Trump could run again.”

This article originally appeared in .

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