At the Turning Point USA conference in Phoenix last week, the vice president was a heavy favorite, securing the endorsement of CEO Erika Kirk and winning a straw poll of attendees.

Crockett says Vance tried to ridicule her Senate charge by “riling up” a Republican crowd with a “racist trope.”

The vice president’s plea for a big-tent coalition at an annual conservative gathering belied the cracks in his party over antisemitism, racism and conspiracy theories.

None of the conference attendees who spoke to NBC News said they were opposed to Vance, who is widely expected to run. The last Republican vice president to run for president at the tail end of his term, George H.W. Bush, won a contested 1988 primary campaign and the presidency, and many Republicans foresee Vance trying to follow the same path.

Rifts over the direction of the conservative movement emerged during Turning Point USA's conference, as speakers attacked each other by name.

Recently endorsed by Charlie Kirk’s widow for a possible 2028 presidential run, Vice President JD Vance promised to pick up Kirk's mantle.

A top Republican may be considering a White House run in 2028, potentially challenging Vice President JD Vance, the current front runner in Republican primary polls. Morton Klein, president of the Zionist Organization of America, told The Washington Post that he believes U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, is seriously eyeing a presidential run in 2028.

Vice President JD Vance’s path to a potential 2028 GOP presidential nomination is facing a complicated path forward as he navigates warring factions of the MAGA movement, split over the United States’ support for Israel.