Tulsi Gabbard: A Stealth Candidate To Watch For In 2028

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She surfs, knows martial arts and practices yoga. She is a Hindu (settling on it after having studied Buddhism in her youth), a community college dropout (though later a Hawaii Pacific University grad) who went on to become a member of Congress and a military veteran who saw service in Iraq and Kuwait. She was a Democrat (rising to vice chair of the DNC, no less) who ran for president and then became a Republican.

Today, she helps keep president Donald Trump and key figures in the U.S. government aware of what’s happening in the darkest corners of the world as Director of National Intelligence.

And some Republicans think Tulsi Gabbard would make an ideal candidate for the top job herself one day.

While most Americans continue taking a breather from politics – recovering from the raucous 2024 presidential campaign – movers and shakers inside the GOP are already looking beyond the horizon to the post-Trump political world. As they size up potential contenders in the 2028 Republican presidential primary campaign, Gabbard’s name keeps coming up.

And if not at the top of the ticket, certainly as an eminently viable No. 2…

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“She would make an appealing running mate,” one D.C.-based political strategist recently mused. “She checks so many boxes that appeal to ‘soccer moms,’ the educated suburban female demo Republicans always struggle to attract each cycle.”

Gabbard is ideally positioned to pursue such future possibilities, too. As a key member of the Trump administration, she has instant bona fides with the GOP’s MAGA wing. And by riding herd on Uncle Sam’s wide-ranging and far-flung intelligence agencies (including the CIA, NSA and FBI), she has a chance to strike a real blow against the Deep State.

Gabbard also has a seat at the table for every major foreign policy decision confronting the Trump administration. For example, you can bet she’s knee-deep at the moment assessing the increasingly dangerous crisis unfolding in the Mideast over Iran’s nuclear program – and Israel’s promise to take military action if diplomatic overtures don’t defuse the situation.

The job also insulates her from direct political attack – keeping her from being directly tied to the more partisan-charged actions of the administration (think DOGE), while simultaneously keeping her in close contact with House and Senate leaders in both parties.

Having a Rolodex like that at your fingertips is an invaluable asset in any presidential campaign.

Additionally, Gabbard’s role keeps her name in the press. So while she may not be viewed as a celebrity to everyday Republicans on Main Street, she commands the attention of the political reporters who write the news the Main Street crowd consumes.

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“It’s win-win for her,” one political operative shared with us. “At this early stage of the game, vice president J.D. Vance is the undisputed frontrunner. But who knows what the future holds? If a painful recession clobbers the country, as some forecasters expect, the Trump-Vance brand’s polling would take a beating as a result. Who knows what the party would be in the mood for then?”

Gabbard – while not from GOP central casting – nonetheless could be an intriguing presidential prospect.

Let’s start with her name – which comes from Tulasi, a sacred plant in Hinduism. She was born in American Samoa in 1981 and grew up in Hawaii. Public service was a tradition in her family; her dad was a state senator in the Aloha State, and her mom served on the state board of education. 

Gabbard was a go-getter from an early age. She co-founded the Healthy Hawaii Coalition as a teenager, was elected to the Hawaii House at age 21 (the youngest woman to service in the state legislature), and joined Hawaii’s National Guard at 22. She served in a field medical unit in Iraq and was later deployed to Kuwait.

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Less than one percent of Americans raise their right hand and volunteer to serve in our military, willing to lay down their lives to defend the safety, security and freedom of the American people. It was a privilege to join over a hundred young Americans @OCSalutes who chose… pic.twitter.com/8rDuatfGHM

— DNI Tulsi Gabbard (@DNIGabbard) May 14, 2025

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There was a brief first marriage that didn’t succeed. She remarried in 2015. 

Gabbard’s election to Congress followed in 2012 (at age 31), and shortly thereafter she had a three-year stint as DNC vice chair – a job she gave up in order to support U.S. senator Bernie Sanders’ 2016 presidential run.

Gabbard sidestepped both Trump impeachment proceedings by merely voting “present.”

Her own presidential bid was short-lived. Finding she wasn’t a good fit with the Democratic primary base, Gabbard bowed out in March 2020 and said goodbye to the party the following year. She remained an independent prior to joining the GOP last fall.

The rest, as they say, is history – and how she handles the coming few years could decide if she gets the opportunity to make history as well.

“Gabbard’s secret sauce could be running on a 2028 Republican ticket,” the D.C. strategist concluded. “She would bring much more than most to the Veep spot. Young, energetic, telegenic, terribly smart, and with an incredible bio and resume, she could be a serious threat to Democrats in traditional swing states. I tell all serious political observes to keep her on their radar screen. It may be too early to count her in just yet. But don’t count her out.”

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR…

J. Mark Powell is an award-winning former TV journalist, government communications veteran, and a political consultant. He is also an author and an avid Civil War enthusiast. Got a tip or a story idea for Mark? Email him at mark@fitsnews.com.

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