Republican strategist Karl Rove is pushing back against the possibility that Vice President JD Vance could become the Republican Party’s 2028 presidential nominee with President Donald Trump’s endorsement, arguing that the GOP should instead hold a wide-open primary.

Rove said Saturday that it would be a mistake for Republicans to simply rally behind Vance rather than allowing voters to choose the party’s nominee.

Speaking at the Texas Tribune Festival, Rove pointed to historical examples involving vice presidents succeeding their presidents, arguing that only twice in American history has a president endorsed his vice president for president and seen him win.

Rove cited Martin Van Buren succeeding Andrew Jackson in 1836 and George H.W. Bush succeeding Ronald Reagan in 1988. He noted that Reagan did not endorse Bush until September 1988, after the Republican primaries and national convention.

Rove argued that Reagan understood presidential elections are about change and that Bush needed to establish himself as a different kind of president rather than simply presenting himself as a continuation of Reagan.

He went further, calling for a “wide-open contest” in both parties and arguing that the Republican and Democratic parties have been weakened by Super PACs, election laws, and the influence of major political personalities.

Rove’s position places him at odds with the direction of the Republican Party under Trump, whose political movement has dramatically reshaped the GOP and displaced much of the party’s traditional establishment.

Rove has long been associated with the older Republican establishment. He served as a senior adviser to President George W. Bush and became one of the most prominent Republican strategists of the Bush era.

His opposition to a potential Vance succession also comes amid an increasingly public feud with Trump. On Sept. 14, Trump criticized Rove on Truth Social, calling him “so bad for the Republican Party” and questioning why Fox News and The Wall Street Journal continue to give him a platform. Trump also referred to Rove as a “RINO” and accused him of repeatedly being wrong about Trump and the MAGA movement.

Rove nevertheless argued that Trump’s influence could make an open Republican primary difficult if the president were to endorse Vance. He said that if Trump selected Vance and endorsed him, Trump’s influence within the party could effectively clear the field and lead to Vance becoming the nominee.

The comments underscore the continuing divide between Republican establishment figures such as Rove and the Trump-era GOP, with the 2028 nomination already emerging as a point of debate well before the presidential primary officially begins.