Republican voters appear to have already settled on a candidate for the 2028 presidential election cycle, according to a report published this week. Vice President JD Vance remains the favored pick, though Secretary of State Marco Rubio has advanced in The Center Square’s latest Voters’ Voice Poll.
“The poll surveyed 952 Republicans and 225 independents who lean Republican across the country, asking them to choose from 15 prominent figures in conservative politics or select ‘someone else’ or ‘not sure,’” the outlet reported.
“Vance was the first choice by a landslide, with 36% of respondents selecting the current vice president. He drew nearly twice as much support as Donald Trump Jr., the second-most popular choice at 19%. An additional 14% said they were not sure, rounding out the top 70% of respondents,” the outlet added.
Vance and Trump Jr. both saw declines in support compared to results from an October Voters’ Voice Poll, while Secretary of State Marco Rubio gained ground. In the latest poll, Rubio received 9 percent overall, placing third among the listed candidates and emerging as the second-most popular option among independent voters.
In October, Vance received support from 38 percent of Republican respondents and 41 percent of independents. In the latest survey, those figures declined to 36 percent among Republicans and 33 percent among independents.
Trump Jr. also saw a drop, with support falling from 26 percent among Republicans and 13 percent among right-leaning independents in October to 20 percent and 8 percent, respectively, according to The Center Square.
By contrast, Rubio’s support increased from 4 percent among Republicans in October — when he trailed Ron DeSantis — to 9 percent in the latest poll. Among independents, Rubio rose to 15 percent, surpassing Trump Jr., who registered 8 percent in that group.
In earlier polling, Vance performed better among women than among men, with support at 40 percent versus 36 percent. In the latest survey, that pattern reversed, with 39 percent of men backing Vance compared to 33 percent of women. Among female respondents, Rubio received 11 percent support, compared to 8 percent among men.
Support among Hispanic and Latino respondents largely mirrored the overall results, with Vance at 24 percent, Donald Trump Jr. at 22 percent and Rubio at 17 percent. Vance showed strong support among rural voters, receiving 47 percent backing. Trump Jr. performed better among urban respondents, where he received 32 percent compared to Vance’s 28 percent.
Other candidates trailed in the polling. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis received 5 percent, Nikki Haley and Sen. Ted Cruz each received 3 percent, and Vivek Ramaswamy received 2 percent. Additional figures mentioned in the poll included former Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, former DHS Secretary Kristi Noem, Sens. Tim Scott, Rand Paul, Josh Hawley, and Katie Britt, and former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo.
Meanwhile, a Republican senator who has become a thorn in the side of President Trump and his administration is considering a 2028 presidential bid, which would likely pit him against the presumed heir apparent, Vance.
“We’ll decide after 2026,” Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky said in a weekend interview, adding that “without question” trust in the Trump administration is broken.
In 2016, Paul ran for the Republican presidential nomination but withdrew after finishing a distant fifth in Iowa’s GOP caucuses. Later that year, he was re-elected to the Senate and secured another term in 2022.
For years, the senator has been a prominent advocate within the GOP for fiscal conservatism, civil liberties, and a non-interventionist foreign policy. He has expressed concern about the declining support for these principles within a party increasingly influenced by President Donald Trump. He has also committed to working towards revitalizing this agenda, Fox News reported.
“The most important thing to me isn’t necessarily me or what my role is, but that there is someone who’s advocating that international trade is good and makes us rich. That big is not bad,” Paul said in an interview on “Sunday Night with Chuck Todd.”