Who do voters want as the 2028 Republican candidate? New poll shows clear frontrunner to succeed Trump

One figure in the GOP is emerging as the leading candidate to stand in 2028 – notwithstanding Trump’s hints at an unconstitutional third term

Vice President JD Vance has surged as a clear frontrunner in early polling for the 2028 Republican presidential nomination, according to a new Emerson College survey.

Vance leads the 2028 GOP field with 46 percent support, far ahead of Marco Rubio’s 12 percent and Ron DeSantis' 9 percent.

Independent Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. garnered 5 percent support, while Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem and U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley each earned 2 percent.

The poll surveyed 1,000 registered voters, including 416 Republican primary voters, between June 24 and 25, with a 4.8-point margin of error for GOP respondents.

Meanwhile, 17 percent of respondents were undecided, and six other candidates polled at 1 percent or less.

VP JD Vance is the clear GOP frontrunner in the 2028 presidential nomination, according to a new Emerson College survey (Getty Images)

Vance’s support has grown significantly since Emerson’s November poll, rising from 30 percent to 46 percent, while DeSantis and other contenders saw little change.

In November, half of the respondents were undecided.

President Donald Trump himself has praised both Vance and Rubio, though he has stopped short of officially designating either of them as his successor.

“You look at Marco, you look at JD Vance, who’s fantastic,” Trump told NBC News in a May interview on Meet the Press. “You look at—I could name 10, 15, 20 people right now just sitting here. No, I think we have a tremendous party.”

Trump also denied plans to seek a third presidential term in that interview, saying he intends to be a two-term president. Though he previously claimed he wasn’t joking about serving a third term, which is unconstitutional, Trump later said those remarks were meant to troll the media.

Trump has praised both Vance and Rubio but has not officially named his ideal successor (Getty Images)

On the Democratic side of Emerson College’s most recent survey, former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg edges out ex-Vice President Kamala Harris with 16 percent to 13 percent in the Emerson survey.

Also in contention are California Governor Gavin Newsom at 12 percent and Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro with 7 percent, though nearly a quarter of Democratic voters remain undecided.

Harris’s support has notably dropped from 37 percent in November.