VP Vance Gets Update On Support For 2028 Presidential Bid

With the 2028 presidential primary season still two years away, Vice President JD Vance is continuing to dominate the early Republican field, according to the latest Center Square Voters’ Voice Poll.

Vance was the top choice of 36 percent of Republicans and right-leaning independents surveyed, giving him a commanding lead over every other potential contender tested in the poll.

The former Ohio senator has consistently maintained a major advantage in early surveys, drawing roughly twice the support of his nearest rival both in the latest poll and in The Center Square’s previous survey conducted in March.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio placed second with 17 percent support, while Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis came in third at 7 percent, according to the outlet’s results.

The numbers suggest Vance has emerged as the early favorite among Republican voters, benefiting from his close alignment with President Donald J. Trump’s America First agenda and his high-profile role inside the administration.

Another 17 percent of respondents said they were not yet sure who they would support in 2028.

Rubio and DeSantis both gained ground in the latest survey, a shift that may be partly explained by the absence of Donald Trump Jr. from the list of possible contenders.

In previous Center Square polls, the president’s eldest son consistently ranked as the clear runner-up to Vance and attracted a sizable share of support from Republican voters.

In October, Trump Jr. drew 25 percent support compared with Vance’s 38 percent, marking the closest any potential candidate had come to narrowing the vice president’s lead.

By March, Trump Jr. received 19 percent support while Vance remained steady at 36 percent.

Rubio appears to have benefited from some of that support becoming available. After polling at just 5 percent in October, the secretary of state climbed to 9 percent in March and continued gaining traction in the latest survey.

The Center Square said Trump Jr. was not included in the latest poll because he recently wrote on social media that he has no interest in running in 2028, though he did not rule out a future bid.

“For this wave, we wanted the hypothetical Republican field to be more focused on candidates who seem more plausible as active contenders at this stage,” Noble Predictive Insights founder Mike Noble told the outlet.

Vance’s strongest support came from younger Republican voters. Among respondents ages 18 to 29, 43 percent said he was their preferred candidate.

The vice president also crossed the 40 percent mark among voters who supported President Trump in the last election and among respondents in the Northeast, two groups where his support was especially strong.

Across the survey, Vance outperformed every other potential candidate among both self-identified Republicans and Republican-leaning independents.

He also posted strong numbers across different income levels and education groups, pointing to broad support within the GOP coalition.

The poll found that Vance led among every racial demographic tested, though his support was lowest among black respondents, where he received 21 percent.

Among black respondents, Rubio followed with 14 percent support, while DeSantis received 10 percent, making them the next most popular choices behind Vance, The Center Square reported.

Rubio’s support was noticeably stronger among men than women. The survey found that 21 percent of male respondents backed Rubio, compared with 14 percent of women.

His strongest age group was voters 65 and older, where he earned 26 percent support.

Rubio struggled more with younger Republicans, receiving just 3 percent support among voters ages 18 to 29.

The secretary of state also performed slightly better among Republican-leaning independents than among self-identified Republicans. He drew 20 percent support from right-leaning independents, compared with 17 percent among Republicans.

Even so, Vance remained the dominant choice in both groups.

Education levels also showed areas of strength for Rubio. He performed best among voters with at least some college education, particularly those with postgraduate experience, where he drew 22 percent support.

Among racial demographics, Rubio’s strongest performance came with Hispanic and Latino voters. He received 24 percent support from that group, though Vance still led comfortably at 37 percent.

Regionally, Rubio performed best in the Northeast, where he earned 20 percent support. His support was slightly lower in the South and West, at 18 percent and 16 percent, respectively.

The early numbers make one thing clear: Republican voters are already beginning to think seriously about the party’s post-Trump future, and Vance currently sits in the strongest position.

For conservatives, his advantage reflects the durability of the America First movement and the desire among GOP voters for a successor who can carry President Trump’s populist, nationalist, and working-class message into the next era.

While the 2028 race remains far away and the field could change dramatically, Vance’s early dominance sends a strong signal to potential rivals: the Republican base is not looking to move away from Trump’s legacy. It is looking for someone to continue it.