NASHVILLE, TENNESSEE — Vice President JD Vance headlined a closed-door gathering at the spring summit of the Rockbridge Network at the Four Seasons hotel in Nashville. Vance's remarks focused on his role leading President Donald Trump's new anti-fraud task force and the upcoming 2026 midterm elections, according to a person in the room.

Vance co-founded the Rockbridge Network in 2019 while working as a private investor. About 250 members of the donor community attended the event, which cost at least $100,000 per person, according to a person in the room. The vice president also addressed the challenge for Republicans to maintain control of both chambers of Congress in the midterms, the person said.

Vance did not discuss the 2028 presidential election at the event, according to a person in the room. Separately, a survey of respondents at the Conservative Political Action Conference found that 53 percent named Vance as their preferred candidate in the 2028 Republican primary, with Secretary of State Marco Rubio receiving 35 percent support in second place.

Earlier the same day, Vance appeared at a separate Republican fundraising event in Nashville, according to someone familiar with the matter. Political groups aligned with Trump are expected to spend hundreds of millions of dollars in the next eight months on midterm election efforts.

The summit drew a roster of conservative figures and financiers. Rebekah Mercer and Omeed Malik, a business partner of Donald Trump Jr., both attended. Mercer and Malik are co-founders and co-leaders, respectively, of 1789 Capital, an investment firm also co-led by Trump Jr. Chris LaCivita, senior adviser to Trump's 2024 presidential campaign, spoke on a panel about the midterm elections at the summit and was seen mingling with Mercer, according to someone familiar with the matter.

Blake Masters, a venture capitalist and former Republican U.S. Senate candidate from Arizona, was also spotted at the gathering. Senior White House official Josh Gruenbaum, who has worked on Middle East diplomacy with Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff, was spotted at the summit. Musician Kid Rock was seen entering the Four Seasons soon after Vance's arrival. Tallis Gomes was also spotted at the event.

A conservative investor described the dynamic: "There is a Venn diagram where Rockbridge and 1789 meet, and they want JD to be the heir apparent." A conservative venture capitalist said of the gathering's attendees: "The people that will be rallying around JD, and they want to back JD."

The Rockbridge Network's operational arm, Thumos Strategy, lists its address as the home of Chris Buskirk in Arizona. Donald Trump Jr. is a close ally of Vance.