A Reuters/Ipsos poll shows Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio leading Republicans eyeing the 2028 presidential race, with Senator Jon Ossoff and former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg topping the Democratic list.
The survey of 1,705 American adults, completed on Monday, found that 45 percent of Republicans view Rubio as an "excellent" candidate. Another 43 percent say the same of Vance. Among Democrats, 29 percent each rated Ossoff and Buttigieg as "excellent." The poll included roughly 500 registered voters from each party, with a margin of error of five percentage points.
President Donald Trump, whose approval rating is near the lowest level of his career, has asked allies whether they prefer Vance or Rubio for the Republican nomination. In a CBS "60 Minutes" interview on Sunday, Trump said he does not necessarily need to endorse a candidate in the primaries. Republicans remain divided between those who want a successor to continue Trump's policies and those who prefer distance from him. Some cite the Iran war and rising fuel prices as sources of dissatisfaction.
Vance has signaled distance from the president by stating publicly that the severe Republican defeat in the midterms was caused by the war with Iran. Rubio, despite serving as the nation's top diplomat, was notably absent from many Iran peace talks. Barbara Rezner, a Florida lawyer who voted for Trump in the last three presidential elections, said she prefers Rubio. She described Rubio as having "succeeded in doing his job" without doing anything "too left, too right or too crazy." She called Vance too close to the president and too conservative.
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis was rated "excellent" by 32 percent of Republican voters. Donald Trump Jr. and Texas Senator Ted Cruz also have supporters but many critics.
Among Democrats, Ossoff has gained visibility through direct criticism of Trump, whom he called corrupt and unfit for office. He won re-election last week in Georgia by 18 percentage points, in a state Trump carried by two points in 2024. Buttigieg, who ran in the 2020 Democratic primaries, enjoys greater national name recognition. Former Vice President Kamala Harris and California Governor Gavin Newsom were each rated "excellent" by 23 percent of Democrats. Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez received 15 percent.
Democratic strategist Elaine Kamarck cautioned against placing too much weight on current public opinion. She noted that the 2028 election is still far away. "There are many people in both parties still deciding whether to run," she said. "You might be able to anticipate who will enter the race, but you certainly can't know anything about who will win."
