Sen. John Kennedy says he’s considering running for president

Add to GoogleJohn Kennedy says he’s considering running for president: ‘Why not me on a rainy day?’01:33Get more newsonShareAdd NBC News to GoogleOct. 4, 2026, 10:27 AM EDTBy Megan BrandSen. John Kennedy, R-La., told NBC News’ “Meet the Press” that he is considering a run for president in 2028.

Asked by moderator Kristen Welker whether he was thinking about running for president, Kennedy replied, “Yeah.”

“My plans right now are to run for re-election, but as I’ve said before, if I don’t think I can be effective in the Senate anymore, I would consider it,” he said.

A slew of politicians on both sides of the aisle have acknowledged that they are considering running for president in 2028 or have declined to rule out the possibility. None, though, have formally announced yet that they are running. Kennedy, too, said that he has not made a decision.

“On my side of the aisle, if a bunch of goobers run, and I think they’re goobers and one of the goobers might win, and I think I could do a better job, I would consider running,” he said. “But right now, I’m running for re-election.”

Sen. John Kennedy, R-La., said he hasn't decided whether to run for president in 2028.NBC NewsKennedy is up for re-election in 2028.

Vice President JD Vance is widely considered a likely presidential candidate in 2028. Kennedy, though, declined to talk about Vance when asked why voters should pick the senator over the vice president.

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He added that he thinks “it’ll be good for both parties to have a full field.”

President Donald Trump has previously floated both Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio as potential successors. In September, Rubio said he has “no plans at this time” to run for president.

NBC News previously reported that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has talked about potentially running for president in 2028, which a Defense Department spokesperson denied. Separately, Vance told NBC News last week that it was “really obvious to me” that Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, was running for president in 2028.

The 2028 presidential election will be the first time since 2012 in which Trump will not be the Republican nominee.

Megan BrandMegan Brand is a politics reporter for NBC News.