Secretary of State Marco Rubio strengthened his lead over Vice President J.D. Vance in The Western Journal’s latest GOP 2028 Presidential Straw Poll.
For the first time, he also came just one-tenth of a percent short of grabbing a majority of support among all potential contenders.
Rubio received 49.9 percent of the vote in the survey, which was conducted from Oct. 19-25.
The strong showing was an increase of 1.8 percent in support for Rubio from the previous week.
Vance finished second with 20.2 percent support, less than half of Rubio’s total. The vice president lost 0.4 points from the previous week’s 20.6 percent.
The latest results from The Western Journal’s 2028 GOP Presidential Straw Poll are in! 🇺🇸 Take a look at how the candidates stand following the Oct. 19–25 voting period:
Marco Rubio – 49.9%
JD Vance – 20.2%
Thomas Massie – 11.1%
Donald J. Trump – 8.3%
Ron DeSantis – 6.2%
Other – 4.2%Another week of voting is underway, so head to https://t.co/UhPwxhxWh4 to cast your vote and take the opportunity to make your voice heard!
https://t.co/g44z3VxPN1— The Western Journal (@WesternJournalX) October 26, 2026
Will Trump still influence GOP voters in upcoming polls?
Rubio now leads Vance by 29.7 percentage points, further widening his advantage in this weekly, non-scientific survey.
When The Western Journal first launched the weekly survey earlier this year, Rubio and Vance were the favored potential contenders of a majority of participants.
Rubio has consistently outperformed Vance in recent months, and his support continues to trend toward an outright majority.
Rep. Thomas Massie of Kentucky remained in third place, and also continued to lose ground.
Massie received 11.1 percent of the vote, which was down 1.6 percent from the previous week’s 12.7 percent.
The latest results are in! Here’s where the candidates stand in The Western Journal’s 2028 GOP Presidential Straw Poll following the Oct. 12–18 voting period:
Marco Rubio – 48.1%
JD Vance – 20.6%
Thomas Massie – 12.7%
Donald J. Trump – 8.7%
Ron DeSantis – 5.8%
Other – 4.2%The race continues, and your vote could help shape next week’s results!
Head to https://t.co/UhPwxhxWh4 to cast your vote and see how the standings change. https://t.co/g44z3VxPN1— The Western Journal (@WesternJournalX) October 19, 2026
President Donald Trump finished fourth with 8.3 percent support, down 0.4 points from his previous showing of 8.7 percent.
Trump is constitutionally limited to two terms and is not eligible to seek another presidential term in 2028, but he continues to draw support in the weekly straw poll.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis finished in fifth place with 6.2 percent of the vote, gaining 0.4 percentage points from the previous week’s 5.8 percent.
The “Other” category, which includes candidates receiving less than 2 percent of the vote individually, accounted for 4.2 percent of responses.
That was unchanged from the previous week, when other candidates also received a 4.2 percent share of the vote.
Rubio and DeSantis were the only listed candidates to gain ground from week to week, but Rubio has emerged as the clear favorite for almost a majority of our readers.
The Western Journal will continue tracking reader sentiment about the potential 2028 Republican field until Republican primary voters have the opportunity to make their voices heard at the polls.
If you would like to participate in this week’s survey, you can do so by clicking here.
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