DALLAS — Vice President JD Vance on Thursday offered his young family — in particular, his newborn son — as a model and a window to the future that the potential 2028 presidential contender envisions for America.

In a speech here at the Republicans’ midterm convention, Vance broadly criticized Democrats who he said do not share his values.

He also homed in specifically on two Democratic candidates this fall in Michigan: Senate hopeful Abdul El-Sayed and Will Lawrence, who is seeking a House seat. Vance seized on Lawrence’s since-deleted social media posts that were critical of the nuclear family.

“I’ve thought a lot, ladies and gentlemen, about what is the birthright of this newest of Americans, my little boy,” Vance told the crowd at American Airlines Center. “And I think about what the Democrats have said about our shared birthright as Americans or, frankly, the lack thereof.”

He added a moment later, “To the radicals who wish to abolish my family and the thousands and millions of other families all across our country, we have a simple message for them: Stay the hell away from our kids!”

Vance’s speech on the convention’s closing night represented something of an unofficial passing of the torch from the term-limited Trump to his 42-year-old vice president, who is seen as a leading candidate for president in two years. At one point, the audience broke out with chants of “48! 48!” Vance would be the 48th president if he succeeds Trump.

“We’ve got to take care of business this November,” Vance replied, sticking to his common refrain when he is confronted with speculation about his White House ambitions. “Then we’ll worry about what comes next.”

Later, in a moment that captured the unique dynamic of playing understudy to a president who relishes being the center of attention, Vance passed the torch back. Trump, who spoke for an hour and 45 minutes the night before, returned to the stage for closing remarks that lasted about 25 minutes.

While Trump’s words Wednesday and Thursday effectively made the midterms a referendum on his time in office, Vance offered a more forward-looking case that at times scanned as his case for what should come next.

“I can’t help but think about what it is that we’re fighting for and what it is that we want for all of our children,” Vance said. “What I want for my family, I want for your family, too.”

He added: “This country was handed down to us by our parents and their parents before them. We received this national birthright, and we are going to fight for it by electing Republicans this November.”

A person close to Vance told NBC News that he will begin giving a White House bid more serious thought after the November elections and is not necessarily expected to reach or announce an immediate decision. Republicans routinely mention Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio as Trump’s two likeliest successors. Rubio, who ran for president in 2016, has said he does not plan to run and has signaled that Vance will have his support if he does.

Another potential 2028 contender, Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, spoke during Thursday’s convention program. He focused his remarks tightly on 2026 races, leveling criticism at Democratic Senate candidates such as El-Sayed and Texas state Rep. James Talarico.

“As one Democrat president put it long ago, before his party had lost their ever-loving minds, we have a rendezvous with destiny,” Cruz said, invoking Franklin Roosevelt. “Together, we must stand and fight for the Constitution. We must stand and fight for freedom. We must stand and defeat the communists. We must stand and defeat the Islamists.”

Cruz, who also ran in 2016, has made several moves over the last year to position himself against Vance. Those moves have not escaped Vance’s notice. When he was asked at a White House briefing last week about Cruz’s prospects, Vance offered a sarcastic reply: “Clearly, Ted is a very authentic and likable guy, and I’m sure he’ll do great.”

Vance, like others who spoke Thursday, also used his speech to reflect on his friendship with conservative activist Charlie Kirk on the first anniversary of his assassination. He offered a message to Kirk’s two young children.

“I hope that one day they will watch and they will know and they will understand what I’m trying to say to them tonight,” Vance said. “History will record that your father was a great man.”

At another point, Vance was briefly interrupted by what he said was a protester waving Mexico’s flag.

“Well, my friend,” Vance responded, “if you love Mexico so much, get your ass over there. I’ll buy you the plane ticket.”

Vance, known for his conservative populism, also made overtures to more moderate and independent voters.

“Look, I’m not asking anybody to agree with me on every single issue. I’m not asking anybody to agree on every single policy of the administration,” he said. “What I am asking you to do is to recognize the contrast with the radicals and recognize the achievements of the last 18 months. We have done a lot, my friends, and we can do a lot more if we fight together.”

Vance reserved his vitriol for Democrats and the progressive left. He went on an extended riff against El-Sayed, who last month mockingly wondered whether Vance would take his Indian American wife, Usha Vance, back in time to meet his late grandfather. Vance also alluded to El-Sayed’s alliance with Hasan Piker, a Twitch streamer who previously said on a livestream that “America deserved 9/11.” Piker has since apologized for the remark, which has become a staple of Republican campaigning this year.

“This is who the Democrats are now,” Vance said. “They’re the party that can find sympathy for the terrorists who perpetrated 9/11, but they say that people with names like James Vance are incapable of loving people with names like Usha. And they couldn’t be more wrong.”

Known previously for a bestselling memoir that chronicled his rough childhood, Vance has been on a fast political rise since he won a Senate seat in Ohio in 2022.

Just days after he survived an assassination attempt in 2024, Trump selected him over Rubio and others to be his running mate, opening doors that have helped position Vance as an heir apparent. Vance is the Republican National Committee’s finance chair — an unprecedented move for a sitting vice president that has given him an opportunity to connect with big-money donors who can be helpful to his political career.

On Thursday, for example, Vance headlined an RNC fundraiser here that brought in $2 million, two people familiar with the event said. He also headlined a breakfast for conventiongoers from Michigan, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, Ohio and Hawaii. Another speaker at that event, Sen. Bernie Moreno, R-Ohio, referred to Vance’s backstory and explicitly promoted him as a 2028 candidate.

“Every single study would have told you that that kid will probably not make it in life. And what is he today? The vice president of the United States,” said Moreno, whose remarks were heard by NBC News before an organizer told a reporter to leave the event, which was not intended to be open to media.

“I think there’s a chance,” Moreno added, “that in two years when we’re together again for a convention that we’ll be nominating him as the next president.”

Moreno, who supported Rubio’s 2016 campaign for president, said Vance is his first choice for president and that he, like others, does not believe Rubio would run against him. Moreno, noting the recent birth of Vance’s fourth child, also said he believes he will take his time to make a decision.

“I think he’s going to do a lot of soul-searching,” Moreno said. “He does have four little kids. Being president of the United States is not a small job. It is soul-sucking. Running for president is beyond comprehension.”

Moreno added, “If he calls me and asks if he should run, I’d say, ‘Hell yes, and how can I help?’”

In other conversations around the convention, Vance’s and Rubio’s names topped the lists of many delegates and party leaders when they were asked whom they could see at the top of the 2028 ticket. Others took more of a wait-and-see approach.

“You know, I can name, you know, half a dozen people that are great, starting with our vice president, our secretary of state, numerous governors and senators,” said Vince Galko, a former top official at the Pennsylvania Republican Party. “We have a spoil of riches right now and a great bench to pull from.”