Former US vice president Mike Pence hinted at a possible 2024 presidential bid after declining to say whether he would back Donald Trump should the former president run again.
The question about supporting Mr Trump was posed after Mr Pence spoke at Georgetown University on Wednesday.
“There might be somebody else I'd prefer more,” Mr Pence said at an event hosted by the Republican-leaning Young Americas Foundation.
“All my focus has been on the midterm elections and it will stay that way for the next 20 days, but after that, we'll be thinking about the future.”
Mr Pence has previously indicated he would be open to being named the Republican nominee in 2024.
He has been campaigning in recent weeks on behalf of Republican candidates — sometimes pitting himself against Mr Trump's endorsements.
In separate remarks at the conservative Heritage Foundation think tank, Mr Pence warned of the growing divide between traditional conservatives and Trump-inspired candidates.
“Our movement cannot forsake the foundational commitment that we have to security, to limited government, to liberty and to life,” he said.
“But nor can we allow our movement to be led astray by the siren song of unprincipled populism that’s unmoored from our oldest traditions and most cherished values.”
Earlier this year, Mr Pence released his so-called Freedom Agenda, which he billed as a Republican blueprint for political victory.
Mr Pence became the target of Mr Trump's ire after refusing to support the former president's attempt to overturn the results of the 2020 election. Mr Trump claimed that, in his concurrent role as president of the Senate, Mr Pence would have been able to block the certification of President Joe Biden's electoral victory.
The former Republican vice president has since stressed the importance of election officials upholding their oaths of office “even when it hurts”.
The Associated Press contributed to this report
