Pete Buttigieg, JD Vance at top of new 2028 presidential primary poll
Although midterms While there are still months away, potential candidates for the 2028 presidential election are starting to come to the top, with former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg and former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg on the rise. Vice President J.D. Vance leading his own primaries.
Latest Survey from Emerson CollegeReleased on Thursday, July 23, it shows Buttigieg leading among Democratic voters at 19%, with California Gov. Gavin Newsom leading at 17% and Georgia leading. Senator Jon Ossoff and New York Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez Tied at 13%.
On the Republican side, this is a hotly contested two-horse race; Vance is ahead with 39% and the Secretary of State is ahead with 39%. State Marco Rubio He comes in with 38% of GOP primary voters. In a distant third place is the Governor of Florida. Ron DeSantis Only 5% of voters, 9% undecided.
Accordingly Emerson CollegeThe poll was conducted among 1,100 likely voters between July 19 and July 20. Thursday’s poll has a margin of error of plus or minus 2.9 percentage points.
A relatively quiet Trump
With what appears to be such a tight race for the GOP nomination in 2028, President Donald Trump has so far refused to confirm a successor.
But the president praised both Vance and Rubio as a potential “perfect ticket” at a May 11 White House event.
“I believe this is a dream team, but these are minor details. That doesn’t mean you will have my support under any circumstances,” Trump said. “I think he looks like a presidential candidate and a vice presidential candidate.”
U.S. Vice President J.D. Vance and U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio listen to U.S. President Donald Trump speak during a meeting with Lebanon’s Ambassador to the United States and Israel’s Ambassador to the United States at the White House in Washington, DC on April 23, 2026.
A fluid voting scene
Buttigieg and Vance’s lead in Thursday’s poll comes a month after the same pollster We published a survey in June in which the two candidates run their own primaries.
However, outside the Emerson College polls, both candidates showed different performances.
One AtlasIntel survey conducted between May 4 and May 7 It found Ocasio-Cortez leading the Democratic candidates with 26%, followed by Buttigieg and Newsom. Former Vice President Kamala Harris She came in fourth place, receiving about half of Ocasio-Cortez’s support.
On the Republican side, in the same AtlasIntel poll, Rubio leads with about 45% of primary voters, followed by Vance and DeSantis.
Then one McLaughlin & Associates study, published June 25It showed Harris leading with 26 percent of Democratic voters, ahead of Newsom’s 16 percent and Ocasio-Cortez’s 9 percent. On the Republican side, Vance had a wider lead at 35% compared to Rubio’s 15%.
More: AOC responds to polls naming her among Democrats’ top picks for 2028
Bad news for Republicans and Trump?
In addition to looking to 2028, Thursday’s poll also included potential bad news for the GOP ahead of the November midterm elections as the party looks to maintain its grip on Congress.
according to Emerson College surveyDemocrats led Republicans in the overall congressional vote by 11 percentage points.
“Democrats’ significant lead in the polls comes from female voters, who support the Democratic candidate by a 27-point margin, 56 percent to 39 percent, while men are more split: 49 percent support the Democrat and 44 percent support the Republican,” said Spencer Kimball, managing director of Emerson College Polling. he said in a press release.
Democrats’ strong performance also comes as Trump remains very unpopular among Americans; Only 39% approve of Trump’s tenure, according to the poll.
Fernando Cervantes Jr. He is USA TODAY’s trending news reporter. Reach him at fernando.cervantes@usatodayco.com and follow him on X @fern_cerv_.
This article first appeared on USA TODAY: Pete Buttigieg and JD Vance top in 2028 presidential primary polls
