Sen. John Kennedy (R-LA) has not ruled out a possible 2028 presidential bid.
Although his focus is on the 2026 midterms, the Louisiana Republican said during an interview that he thinks he could be more effective than some of the potential candidates.
“A lot of people enter the field, and I think they are goobers,” Kennedy told “Katie Pavlich Tonight,” according to NewsNation.
“I’ve had some people talk to me about it. Why not me? That’s kind of how I look at it. But I’m not saying I will do it,” he continued.
🚨Report: Louisiana Republican Senator John N. Kennedy has expressed interest in running for President in 2028
Kennedy said he is planning to run for reelection in 2028 but has said donors had approached him to run for President in 2028 and that he is not ruling out the idea pic.twitter.com/Kp30xcDtES
— The Calvin Coolidge Project (@TheCalvinCooli1) June 14, 2026
NewsNation shared further:
He expanded on the “goober” remark, stating he doesn’t know who will run from either the Republican or Democratic Party. However, he has a pretty good guess.
ADVERTISEMENT“Two years in our political world and in America’s history right now is a long time,” Kennedy said. “You don’t know what things are going to look like.”
Kennedy added that despite speculation, he’s not planning anything regarding a bid currently.
As the midterms approach, though, Kennedy believes Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez is the apparent leader of the Democratic Party.
Ocasio-Cortez’s gravitas within the party is largely attributed to the assistance of Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., and New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani, Kennedy said.
Kennedy’s term in the upper legislative chamber ends in January 2029.
His current plan is to seek re-election for the Senate.
The Hill noted:
Vice President Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio are widely seen as the front-runners to be the GOP’s presidential nominee in 2028, where Republicans for the first time since 2012 will have a standard-bearer who is not President Trump.
Kennedy said people asked him about a presidential bid in New Hampshire while he was visiting with former Sen. John Sununu (R-N.H.).
Sununu is looking to return to the Senate and is seeking to win the seat being vacated by Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.).
ADVERTISEMENTKennedy spoke at a “Politics & Eggs” forum in New Hampshire and said that he and Sununu had a “good time.”
“Wonderful people asked me all kind of questions,” he added.
