Tucker Carlson may command a loud following online, but a new poll suggests that online backing has not translated into broad support among Republican voters who are looking at potential 2028 presidential candidates.
Just 13% of Republicans and Republican-leaning voters rated Carlson an “excellent” or “good” candidate for the GOP nomination in 2028, according to the Reuters/Ipsos survey conducted November 6-9. Forty-three percent said he would be a “poor” candidate, another 15% rated him “only fair,” and 28% said they had never heard of him.
The results put Carlson near the bottom of the field tested by Ipsos, with fewer Republicans viewing him favorably as a potential nominee than virtually every other prominent Republican included in the survey. His 13% combined excellent-or-good rating was less than half the 29% received by President Donald Trump’s son, Donald Trump Jr., and far behind the leading Republicans being floated as 2028 contenders.
Vice President JD Vance received the strongest showing among the names tested, with 62% rating him an excellent or good candidate. Secretary of State Marco Rubio followed at 58%, while Florida Governor Ron DeSantis received 52%.
Carlson also had a substantial name-recognition gap, showing yet again that social media fixations rarely reflect on-the-ground reality. Twenty-eight percent of those surveyed said they had never heard of Carlson. By comparison, just 8% said they were unfamiliar with Vance, 19% with Rubio, and 23% with DeSantis.
Other potential candidates also struggled to generate enthusiasm. Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) received a combined 35% excellent-or-good rating, while former South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley received 20%. Sen. Tim Scott (R-SC) received 23%, although half of respondents said they had never heard of him. Former Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin and Georgia Governor Brian Kemp received just 13% and 12% excellent-or-good ratings, respectively, but 59% of respondents were unfamiliar with each.
Trump Jr. fared poorly as well. Forty-three percent rated him a poor candidate, while 29% gave him an excellent or good rating. Twenty percent said he would be only fair.
The survey also suggested that Republicans are not necessarily looking for a presidential nominee who simply replicates Trump’s governing style. Asked whether they would prefer the next Republican nominee to take a similar or different approach to governing, 52% of Republicans and Republican-leaning voters said they wanted a different approach, compared with 46% who preferred a similar one.
That divide was sharper among Republican-leaning independents: 65% preferred a different approach, compared with 35% who wanted a candidate more similar to Trump. Among self-identified Republicans, 53% preferred a similar approach and 45% wanted a different one.
The Reuters/Ipsos survey was conducted November 6-9 among 1,705 U.S. adults using Ipsos’ probability-based KnowledgePanel. The 2028 Republican candidate questions were asked of 689 Republicans and Republican-leaning respondents.
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