A new poll shows Secretary of State Marco Rubio leading a hypothetical 2028 Republican presidential primary to succeed President Donald Trump.
The survey, conducted by AtlasIntel between May 4-7 among 2,069 American adults, found Rubio with 45.4% support, followed by Vice President JD Vance at 29.6%.
The rest of the field trailed significantly.
- Marco Rubio: 45.4%
- JD Vance: 29.6%
- Ron DeSantis: 11.2%
- None of the above 10.3%
- Vivek Ramaswamy: 1.4
The AtlasIntel poll is the first to show Rubio ahead, while broader polling still favors Vance. RealClearPolitics, a media company that aggregates national polling, shows the vice president holding a 20-point advantage over other potential candidates.
Rubio and Vance are widely seen as the most serious contenders to succeed Trump and shape the future of the MAGA movement.
Trump addressed the elephant in the room at the White House on Monday, polling a crowd on whether they would prefer Vance or Rubio to run for president in 2028.
“I don’t know. Who’s it going to be? Is it going to be JD? Is there going to be somebody else? I don’t know,” Trump told a group of law enforcement officials.
The kingmaker of GOP politics then asked the crowd who they thought should succeed him.
“Who likes JD Vance? Who likes Marco Rubio? All right. Sounds like a good ticket,” Trump joked.
Applause from those in attendance appeared stronger for Vance, but Trump said he was not yet making any endorsements.
“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. But you know … I think it sounds like presidential candidate and vice presidential candidate,” Trump said.
Rubio said last year that he would support Vance if the vice president decided to run for president.
“If JD Vance runs for president, he’s going to be our nominee, and I’ll be one of the first people to support him,” Rubio told Vanity Fair in an interview.
On the Democratic side, the field appears more divided and open-ended, with a democratic socialist leading the pack.
- Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez: 26%
- Pete Buttigieg: 22.4%
- Gavin Newsom: 21.2%
- Kamala Harris: 12.9%
- Andy Beshear: 4.1%
- Cory Booker: 3.9%
- None Of The Above: 3.1%
- Josh Shapiro: 2.4%
- Gretchen Whitmer: 1.1%
Last Friday, AOC did not rule out a presidential run.
“They assume that my ambition is a title or a seat, and my ambition is way bigger than that. My ambition is to change this country,” Ocasio-Cortez said in a conversation with Democratic strategist David Axelrod. “Presidents come and go … elected officials come and go, but single-payer healthcare is forever.”
AOC asked about a potential presidential run
“My ambition is to change this country.” pic.twitter.com/Pd770HL9JC
— Defiant L’s (@DefiantLs) May 11, 2026
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