A new poll shows Secretary of State Marco Rubio surging in support to win the 2028 Republican Party presidential nomination.
According to a poll from AtlasIntel, 45.4 percent of those polled said Rubio was their preferred GOP candidate, surging past Vice President JD Vance, who had long had more support than Rubio in terms of a 2028 MAGA successor.
Vance polled at 29.6 percent, and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, who is said to be seriously considering mounting another presidential run, polled at 11.2 percent. Around 10 percent of those polled said their preferred GOP nominee was not named in the poll.
In terms of approval rating, Vance’s is much worse than Rubio’s. The poll found 51 percent said they have a negative view of Rubio, and 46 percent said they have a positive view. Meanwhile, 58 percent held a negative view of Vance, with just 37 percent having a positive view.
A previous poll on the two men from AtlasIntel showed Vance with a strong advantage over Rubio, with 46.7 percent preferring Vance to be the nominee in December, and 22.6 percent for Rubio.
But the poll comes as momentum has appeared to be working in Rubio’s favor for several weeks.
A straw poll at CPAC earlier this year showed Rubio with a big spike in support, while Vance’s support had tanked from the MAGA convention last year.
Additionally, Trump insiders see Rubio as the man who can keep Trump’s coalition together ahead of the next presidential election, Politico reported last month.
Even with the surge in momentum, Rubio has said he would not challenge Vance for the nomination if Vance announces a run.
President Donald Trump has also yet to fully endorse anyone, even as he routinely asks his Mar-a-Lago guests which of the two men he should back.
On Monday, he asked a group of people at the White House, “Who likes JD Vance? Who likes Marco Rubio?” adding that it sounded “like a good ticket.”
“By the way, I do believe that’s a dream team. But these are minor details. That does not mean you have my endorsement under any circumstance,” he added. “I think it sounds like presidential candidate and vice presidential candidate.”
When asked on Fox News last month who he believed the next president would be, Trump dodged the question, saying, “Well, I would say that it will be a Republican. I really believe that, and I think it will be a good one.”
