Marco Rubio is the preferred choice of Republicans and Republican-leaning independents to join JD Vance on a potential 2028 ticket, rather than Ron DeSantis, according to an exclusive Our News Outlet/YouGov poll.
The Secretary of State leads the potential field with 33 percent support—20 points ahead of Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, who is backed by 13 percent.
Rubio’s advantage is even more pronounced among self-described MAGA supporters, 45 percent of whom want him on the ticket. Among registered voters who say they are certain to vote, he receives 41 percent support.
Still, Rubio is not an overwhelming favorite. An almost equal share of respondents—34 percent—said they did not know whom Vance should select.
The other potential contenders attracted limited support. Former South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley received five percent, while South Carolina Senator Tim Scott, former Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard and Ohio gubernatorial candidate Vivek Ramaswamy each registered three percent.
When all Americans surveyed were asked whom they believed Vance would ultimately choose, Rubio again ranked first, at 22 percent. DeSantis followed well behind with eight percent.
A majority of respondents, 55 percent, said they were unsure.
Vance has not announced whether he will seek the presidency in 2028.
Rubio has publicly endorsed Vance as a potential 2028 presidential nominee, saying he would be the first to support his friend if Vance chose to run. Rubio has not revealed his own future political plans.
In July 2023, DeSantis said on a podcast, ‘I’m not a No. 2 guy. I think I’m a leader,’ adding that the vice presidency ‘doesn’t really have any authority.’
DeSantis was once viewed as Donald Trump’s natural successor, but his 2024 presidential campaign unraveled. His second term as Florida governor ends in January, leaving him free to consider his next political move.
Whether he would challenge Vance directly remains unclear.
The question about Vance’s potential running mate was put to 385 Republicans and Republican-leaning independents. They were part of a YouGov survey of 1,053 U.S. adults conducted from October 2–5. The margin of error for the full sample is plus or minus 4.2 percentage points.
DeSantis, however, has repeatedly made clear that he does not see himself as anyone’s understudy.
‘I’m not a No. 2 guy. I think I’m a leader,’ he told the Wisconsin Right Now podcast in July 2023, as he competed with Trump for the Republican nomination.
He dismissed the vice presidency, saying it ‘doesn’t really have any authority.’
Months earlier, when Newsmax asked whether he would consider becoming Trump’s running mate, DeSantis said he was ‘probably more of an executive guy.’
By November 2023, he was even more direct: ‘The only tickets that are in the future are with DeSantis at the top.’
Within weeks, however, his campaign had ended. DeSantis dropped out in January 2024 and endorsed Trump.
Former South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley was similarly dismissive of a vice-presidential role. In January 2024, she said, ‘I don’t want to be anybody’s vice president. That is off the table.’
While South Carolina Senator Tim Scott said in June 2024 that being selected as Trump’s running mate would be a ‘great honor,’ he’s also made clear that he has his sights set on the top job. Right now, though, his priority is seeking re-election in 2028
Back in 2024, former director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard argued that Florida Senator Marco Rubio would be a mistake because of his foreign policy positions
In January 2024, asked about joining Haley on a ticket, DeSantis said he would not take the job ‘under any circumstances.’ He would ‘much rather do my final two years as governor than be vice president,’ he added.
Days later he quit the race and endorsed Trump. Even then, he batted away talk of becoming Trump’s running mate. ‘I’m not doing that,’ he told supporters.
Haley was just as dismissive. ‘I don’t want to be anybody’s vice president. That is off the table,’ she declared that same month, while still battling Trump for the nomination.
Tim Scott once sounded equally defiant. ‘I did not enter this race to come in second place. Second place is the first loser,’ he told Fox News during his 2023 White House run.
By June 2024 he had softened, calling the prospect of being Trump’s running mate a ‘great honor.’
For now, Scott appears focused on the Senate. His campaign confirmed in March 2026 that he will seek re-election in 2028.
During a campaign stop in Alaska last week, Vice President JD Vance again declined to commit to a 2028 run, telling Reuters, ‘I’m inherently a procrastinator. I really haven’t thought about it much’
Vance has also begun taking aim at potential rivals, recently accusing Texas Senator Ted Cruz of already running for president while insisting that he himself was concentrating on helping Republicans win in November
The prospect of a Vance presidency is already being openly discussed among Republicans, with Senator Jim Banks becoming the first sitting senator to endorse him in September
Vance insists his focus is on next month’s midterms, not the White House.
‘I’m inherently a procrastinator. I really haven’t thought about it much,’ he told Reuters at a campaign stop in Alaska last week.
But Republicans are already lining up behind him. In September, Indiana Senator Jim Banks became the first sitting senator to endorse him.
And Vance has begun sniping at potential rivals, recently accusing Texas Senator Ted Cruz of already running for president.
Rubio has stayed coy about his own ambitions, refusing to rule out another run.
Asked in May whether he wanted to be vice president, he said: ‘I want to be the Secretary of State, and I’ll worry about the future in the future.’
But he has publicly backed Vance, vowing to be the first to support his friend if he runs.
