Gov. Kevin Stitt (R-OK) said on Thursday he would like to see the Republican Party nominate an experienced governor for president in 2028 — a suggestion that does not apply to Vice President JD Vance, the presumed front-runner in the next presidential race.
During the Politico Governors Summit in Washington, D.C., the Oklahoma governor would not commit to backing Vance for the presidency.
“I have faith in the American people. They’ll find the very best person,” he said, explaining that governors “understand how to make decisions to move their state forward.”
Stitt cited his “favorite” president, Ronald Reagan, as an example. Reagan was the California governor for two terms before winning the White House in 1980.
Stitt also pointed to other governors, both Republicans and Democrats, who later became president — Teddy Roosevelt, Franklin D. Roosevelt, Bill Clinton, Jimmy Carter, and George W. Bush.
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The Oklahoma Republican answered the question while sitting next to Gov. Wes Moore (D-MD). Both lead the National Governors Association, which President Donald Trump has targeted in recent days.
“Like Governor Moore said, we’re calling balls and strikes. We’re the governor for the whole state … regardless of party,” Stitt said.
“If we would get back to federalism, we’d get back to states’ rights. It’s not a one-size-fits-all,” he added. “Our Founding Fathers got it right. We need a bigger, limited federal government. We need more emphasis on the states.”
Stitt and Moore are in Washington this week for the annual NGA meeting at the White House. The gathering has made headlines recently because Trump disinvited Moore and Gov. Jared Polis (D-CO), prompting a response from Stitt, who suggested at one point that all Democratic governors were not welcome.
Trump then attacked the “RINO” governor for misrepresenting the situation. Only Moore and Polis were specifically not allowed to attend the traditionally bipartisan event.
Stitt confirmed on Thursday he will attend the NGA business meeting. Meanwhile, Moore will skip the event to host some sort of “alternative programming.” He has not provided any specific details about the separate event yet.
In the race for the 2028 GOP nomination, Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio are the favored administration officials to succeed Trump. Analysts have speculated the two being on the same ticket would increase their chances. Trump has fueled the speculation, calling both “fantastic.”
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Vance denied there was any “conflict” brewing between himself and Rubio after the latter’s highly praised speech at the Munich Security Conference — the same event that Vance headlined last year.
“I think it’s so interesting the media wants to create this conflict where there just isn’t any conflict,” Vance told Fox News host Martha MacCallum on Tuesday. “Marco’s doing a great job. I’m trying to do as good of a job as I can. The president’s doing a great job. We’re going to keep on working together.”
