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Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., has indicated that he does not plan to run for president during the 2028 election cycle.
“No, I have no intention of doing so, period,” the senator told the Washington Examiner on Tuesday.
Republicans are currently aiming to retain their majorities in the House and Senate during the November 3 midterm elections — but next year, the center of political gravity will likely shift toward the 2028 election cycle, which will include a White House contest with no incumbent.
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Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., during a Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee confirmation hearing in Washington, D.C., on Wednesday, Sept. 16, 2026. (Daniel Heuer/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
“I have no insight to offer you on 2028, one way or another,” he said, according to the Examiner. “I don’t know who will run or what will happen. We need to get through these elections first.”
Fox News Digital reached out to Hawley’s office on Thursday.
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President Donald Trump, who is currently serving his second term, is constitutionally barred from election to a third term, leaving the field wide open for 2028 GOP White House hopefuls. But he could potentially choose to endorse a candidate during the 2028 GOP presidential primary.
Hawley, who has served in the Senate since 2019, was re-elected in 2024.
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U.S. President Donald Trump pauses as he walks alone along an ivy-covered wall during his final departure from Aras an Uachtarain on Sept. 12, 2026, in Dublin, Ireland. (Artur Widak/Anadolu via Getty Images)
Hawley emphasized the importance of conservative religious voters, describing them as “the backbone of this party,” according to the Examiner.
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“You cannot win anything without them. You cannot win a primary without them. You cannot win a general election without them. And I would caution anybody who thinks that you can do without them in our voting coalition — you will have a voting coalition of like 10% without religious conservatives, without evangelical Protestants, without conservative Catholics, without conservative Orthodox Jews. So, I’d be real careful about trying to marginalize that coalition,” he said, according to the outlet.