Secretary of State Marco Rubio outperforms Vice President JD Vance in three hypothetical 2028 presidential match-ups against some of the top-polling Democrats, according to a survey released Thursday.
Pitted against former Vice President Kamala Harris and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY), Rubio tops both by the same 48%-43%, the Emerson College National Poll showed.
Meanwhile, Vance bests the “Squad” congresswoman 46%-44% but comes up short against the failed 2024 Democratic presidential nominee by 4 percentage points.
In a head-to-head presidential race against California Gov. Gavin Newsom, Rubio garners 46% to Vance’s 44% backing – but both Republicans trail the term-limited Golden State governor, who nets 49% support against the vice president and 48% against the secretary of state.
Former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg and Sen. Jon Ossoff (D-Ga.) are the strongest performing Democrats when put up against the two Trump administration officials.
Ossoff, who made headlines over the weekend for insinuating President Trump and White House aide Natalie Harp were romantically entangled, holds a 3-point edge over Rubio (47%-44%) and a 5-point advantage against Vance (49%-44%).
Buttigieg, who has recently campaigned with several Dems in key 2026 midterm races, is ahead of both Republicans by a 49%-44% margin.
The Emerson College survey of 1,000 registered voters was conducted between Aug. 16-17 and has a margin of error of 3 percentage points.
Earlier this month, the Washington Post reported that Trump has privately told donors that “at the end of the day, we need to elect JD” in 2028.
The president later dismissed the report, telling reporters in the Oval Office that he thinks Vance is “great” but that it’s “way too early to even be thinking about” making an endorsement.
Trump has previously suggested Vance and Rubio should run as a ticket, referring to the duo as the “dream team.”
However, Trump has not said which should be the one seeking the presidency.
