US Vice President JD Vance, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Georgia Senator Jon Ossoff and former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg lead the early field of the 2028 US Presidential contenders, according to a Reuters/Ipsos poll. The poll consisted of 1,705 US adults nationwide, including roughly 500 registered voters from each party and was completed on Monday.
Among Republican voters, 45% said Secretary of State Rubio would be an "excellent" presidential candidate, narrowly ahead of the 43% who said the same of Vice President Vance. The two-point gap is well inside the poll's margin of error.
Among Democrats, Buttigieg, the former transportation secretary, and Ossoff, a Georgia senator, each drew 29%. Former Vice President Kamala Harris and California Gov. Gavin Newsom each got 23%, while Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York got 15%. Around 73% of Republicans have an optimistic view of Rubio as a presidential candidate, while Vance leads at 81% for the Presidential race. Among Democrats, 56% have a favourable view of Pete Buttigieg, while 49% have a favourable view of Jon Ossoff.
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Name recognition separates the two Democrats. About one in five Democrats said they had never heard of Buttigieg, who ran for president in 2020, compared with about one in three for Ossoff. Few Republicans were unfamiliar with Vance, but about one in six did not know who Rubio is.
Buttigieg and Ossoff are both viewed as moderates within their party. A retired Illinois farmer told Reuters he rated Buttigieg higher partly because Ossoff is less familiar. A Florida attorney who has backed Trump in three elections said she preferred Rubio because she sees Vance as too far right and too close to the president.
None of the four has announced a campaign. Vance had previously said he would address his plans after the midterms, and Rubio has said he would not run if Vance does. Ossoff has said he has no interest in a 2028 bid. Trump has been weighing in on the Republican contest, though he said in a CBS interview that he would not necessarily endorse in the primary.
