Four politicians have surfaced as potential candidates for the 2028 U.S. presidential election: Republicans J.D. Vance and Marco Rubio, and Democrats Jon Ossoff and Pete Buttigieg. This is according to a recent public opinion poll conducted by Reuters/Ipsos.
However, none of these four individuals have officially announced their candidacy for the presidency. With more than a year remaining before the formal candidate selection process begins for both parties, there is ample room for new names to emerge and for voter preferences to shift.
Among Republican voters surveyed, 45% believe that Marco Rubio would make an “excellent” presidential candidate, while 43% hold the same view regarding J.D. Vance.
On the Democratic side, 29% of voters consider former Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg and Georgia Senator Jon Ossoff to be “excellent” presidential candidates.
The survey, which concluded last Monday, included 1,705 American adults, with approximately 500 registered voters from each of the two major parties.
As President Donald Trump’s popularity hovers near the lowest point of his political career, his influence remains a factor in the discussions surrounding the 2028 election within both parties.
Within the Republican Party, there is a divide over whether to nominate someone who would break ties with Trump or someone who would continue along his political path. Meanwhile, the Democratic camp is also experiencing internal disagreement following the Republicans’ significant defeat in the November 3rd midterm congressional elections.
Democratic voters are split on how strictly to oppose Trump—including whether or not to pursue his impeachment. Trump has asked his close associates which of the two—Vance or Rubio—they prefer.
In an interview on CBS’s ‘60 Minutes’ on Sunday, he stated that he would not necessarily endorse anyone during the Republican primary process.
Many prefer Rubio over Vance
Barbara Rezner, an attorney from Florida, voted for Trump in the last three presidential elections. However, as a potential candidate, she prefers Rubio over Vance, arguing that Vance is too far to the right and too closely aligned with Trump.
Rezner remarked, “Rubio has been able to carry out his duties. He has largely stayed out of the spotlight because he hasn’t engaged in anything overly far-left, far-right, or unconventional.”
Read more:
8 dead, 17 injured after multi-story building collapses in New York
At least a dozen other politicians are being discussed as potential Republican candidates for 2028, including Florida Governor Ron DeSantis. In polls, 32 percent of Republican voters have rated him as an excellent candidate.
Donald Trump Jr. and Texas Senator Ted Cruz also have their own supporters, though they face significant opposition as well.
Ossoff and Buttigieg in the Democratic conversation
Within the Democratic camp, Jon Ossoff ranks high on the list of potential candidates for many voters; 29 percent of registered Democratic voters consider him an excellent choice.
In recent months, Ossoff has made headlines by explicitly labeling Trump as corrupt and unfit for the presidency. Last week, he was re-elected to the Senate in Georgia by an 18-percentage-point margin—a notable contrast to the 2024 presidential election, which Trump won in the same state by a 2-percentage-point margin. Similarly, 29 percent of Democratic voters consider Pete Buttigieg an excellent candidate. He also competed in the 2020 presidential election and is better known nationally than Ossoff.
The survey indicates that one in five Democrats does not know who Buttigieg is, while roughly one in three voters has never even heard of Ossoff.
Among Republicans, very few voters are unfamiliar with Vance, though about one in six does not know who Rubio is. Having prior name recognition can help reduce campaign costs; however, there are precedents for lesser-known candidates gaining popularity once a campaign is underway—as was the case with former President Bill Clinton.
Within the Democratic Party, both Ossoff and Buttigieg are considered moderates—a stance that appeals to a segment of the party’s base.
The Reuters/Ipsos poll also gauged views on other prominent Democratic figures. Former Vice President Kamala Harris and California Governor Gavin Newsom are each viewed as excellent candidates by 23 percent of Democratic voters.
In contrast, only 15 percent of voters gave this assessment to New York Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.
In an interview with CNN following the midterm elections, Ocasio-Cortez suggested that the impeachment of Trump should be on the table for consideration. Buttigieg, however, told The New Yorker magazine that he was “not particularly interested” in the prospect of impeachment.
However, Democratic Party strategist Elaine Kamarck has cautioned against drawing conclusions based on public opinion this far in advance of the 2028 election.
She states, “The 2028 election is still a long way off. Many leaders in both parties have yet to decide whether they will run. While it may be possible to speculate on who might become a candidate, it is too early to say who might have the advantage.”
