Vice President JD Vance holds a wide lead over other potential contenders for the 2028 Republican presidential nomination, according to Rasmussen Reports on Tuesday.
Rasmussen asked 414 likely GOP voters who they would vote for among eight names if the primary were held today.
Vance easily was the first choice, with 35%. He was followed by Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and Secretary of State Marco Rubio, each with 10%; Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky. (5%); Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas (4%); Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin (3%); and Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard and Sen. Tim Scott, R-S.C., each with 2%.
Another 15% said they'd vote for some other candidate, and 14% said they were not sure, Rasmussen Reports found.
The survey also found that 70% of the voters said it's at least somewhat likely that they will vote in the 2028 Republican presidential primary, including 55% who said they're very likely to vote.
Among voters who said it's very likely they'll vote in the '28 primary, 39% said they prefer Vance, and 10% said they'd vote for DeSantis. All other potential candidates received single-digit percentages.
Also among the likely GOP primary voters, slightly more men (39%) than women (32%) said they'd vote for Vance. Twice as many men (14%) as women (7%) said they would vote for Rubio.
Rasmussen said the preference for Vance as the 2028 GOP candidate is strongest among voters in their 30s. Also, the vice president's support is strongest among white voters, with DeSantis second. Rubio makes a strong second-place showing (18%) behind Vance among Latino voters.
Vance late last week said he is not focusing on the 2028 election, after President Donald Trump earlier in the week said the vice president is a likely heir to lead the MAGA movement.
"I'm not focused even on the election in 2026, much less one two years after that," Vance told reporters during remarks while meeting with British Foreign Secretary David Lammy at the official's summer home in Kent, England.
The Rasmussen Reports national telephone and online survey was conducted Aug. 6-7, and 10, among 1,182 U.S. likely voters. It has a margin of sampling error of ±3 percentage points with a 95% level of confidence.
Charlie McCarthy ✉
Charlie McCarthy, a writer/editor at Newsmax, has nearly 40 years of experience covering news, sports, and politics.