AtlasIntel has a new survey out with stunning results indicating there may be a new favorite to win the Republican Party’s presidential nomination in 2028.
The study, which was carried out between May 4 and 7 and included a sample size of 2,069 American adults, found that a plurality (45.4 percent) of Republican respondents now choose Secretary of State Marco Rubio as their favorite to carry the GOP’s banner two years from now.
And what Rubio did after the news broke already has people talking.
Vice President JD Vance finished in second with 29.6%, having been the front-runner in the campaign for a long time, followed by Florida Governor Ron DeSantis (R) with 11.2%.
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Another 10.3% of Republicans indicated their selection was not among the named options after DeSantis.
Vivek Ramaswamy, who is currently running to be the next governor of Ohio, came in fourth at 1.4%.
Then there’s this:
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Fifty-one percent say they have a bad view of Rubio, while 46 percent say they have a positive opinion.
Vance is even more underwater, with 58% negative and only 37% positive.
The previous national poll by the polling firm, conducted last December, had Vance with a big margin over Rubio, 46.7% to 22.6%.
On Monday, President Donald Trump asked a crowd assembled at the White House, “Who likes JD Vance? Who likes Marco Rubio?” before musing that it sounded “like a good ticket.”
“By the way, I do believe that’s a dream team. But these are minor details. That does not mean you have my endorsement under any circumstance!” continued a seemingly half-kidding Trump.
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While Rubio has publicly deferred to Vice President J.D. Vance regarding the 2028 presidential race, President Trump has repeatedly praised Rubio’s performance in recent months.
Rubio has emerged as one of Trump’s closest advisers, playing a central role in U.S. policy toward Venezuela following the U.S. operation that resulted in the capture of its leader, Nicolás Maduro, and in diplomatic engagement with Cuba.
Trump has said Rubio is “totally involved” in negotiations with Iran, even as he has limited Rubio’s direct participation in some meetings with Iranian officials.
Rubio has also taken part in discussions involving officials from Ukraine and Russia as part of efforts to resolve that conflict.
The State Department has not held an on-camera briefing since August, though Rubio has taken questions from reporters in other settings.
He last briefed State Department reporters in December, answering questions from across the press corps and continuing to engage with the traveling pool.
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May 1 marked Rubio’s first anniversary as national security adviser, making him the first person to hold both that role and secretary of state simultaneously since Henry Kissinger during the Richard Nixon administration.
On Iran, Rubio echoed Trump’s earlier claim that the War Powers Act is “unconstitutional.”
The Vietnam-era law requires presidents to seek congressional approval within 60 days of initiating military operations, but nearly all presidents since the law was passed in 1973 have considered it an unlawful infringement on their roles as commander-in-chief.
Rubio said he held that view even during his time as a senator from Florida, while also asserting that the U.S. conflict with Iran had ended.
He added that the administration is entering a “new phase” focused on freeing ships stranded in the Strait of Hormuz, where vessels have been blocked by Iran from exiting.
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which reflects the author’s opinion.
