JD Vance tops CPAC’s straw poll for 2028 Republican presidential candidate, Rubio comes in close second

For the second year in a row, US Vice President JD Vance topped the straw poll at the 2026 Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC), which is touted as one of the biggest right-wing gatherings in the country. The poll is crucial since it is seen as a bellwether – albeit, not necessarily an accurate one – for who might ultimately become the Republican nominee for the next presidential race.

At the four-day conference this year, the attendees were asked which candidate they would prefer to run with a Republican ticket in the 2028 presidential race. The results were eventually revealed on Saturday, with Vance having 53 per cent of the votes cast by nearly 1,600 attendees.

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Interestingly, another senior official under US President Donald Trump rose in the ranks in the contest. It was Trump's top diplomat, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who bagged 35 per cent of the votes. This was a significant improvement for the National Security Advisor, who tied for fourth place at last year’s CPAC straw poll.

Why it matters

Last year, the same poll was taken just two weeks after Trump assumed his presidency. At that time, Vance topped the list with 61 per cent of the votes, followed by former Trump adviser Steve Bannon with 12 per cent, and Florida Governor Ron DeSantis with 7 per cent. Rubio and Representative Elise Stefanik both earned 3 per cent.

Meanwhile, the list of speakers at this year's conference included Senator Ted Cruz of Texas, Iranian opposition leader Reza Pahlavi, and Eduardo and Flavio Bolsonaro, the sons of Brazil’s former far-right president Jair Bolsonaro, who was imprisoned last September for attempting to subvert his country’s democracy.

Many see that this year's straw poll was conducted at a crucial time for the Republican Party. It was conducted less than eight months before November’s midterm elections in the US, where Republicans will be hoping to defend their congressional majority at the ballot box.

Meanwhile, Trump, who has been the face of the party for the longest time, has seen a significant dip in his approval ratings since he returned to the office in 2025. Earlier this week, a survey from the news agency Reuters and the research firm Ipsos found that only 36 per cent of US citizens approved of his job performance, a new low.

The ongoing war in Iran and economic frustrations, including rising gas prices linked to the conflict, were among the factors that contributed to the slump. While Trump has teased he may seek a third term, US law prevents modern presidents from serving more than two. His second presidency is set to expire in 2028. This leaves the question of who may succeed the 79-year-old Republican.