2028 US Presidential Race Officials: Will It Be Kamala Harris vs Trump’s VP JD Vance? What the survey reveals | Today’s news
A recent Focaldata/Financial Times poll has found former Vice President Kamala Harris to be one of the front-runners in a “hypothetical” Democratic primary as buzz grows over potential 2028 US presidential candidates.
Kamala Harris and Vice President JD Vance remain the two front-runners in their parties’ (Democratic and Republican) presidential primaries in 2028, a new poll released Sunday, Oct. 11, revealed.
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US Polls 2028: Democratic Primary Favorites
The poll showed Kamala Harris leading among Democrats with 30 percent support, followed by California Gov. Gavin Newsom with 15 percent and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg with 9 percent, US Today reported.
Who is the top Republican on the primary ballot in 2028?
JD Vance has emerged as the most preferred Republican candidate in a hypothetical 2028 primary poll, leading with 38% support, the poll showed.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio followed Vance with 24% of the poll, while Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis received 9% support from GOP respondents.
The survey included 2,553 U.S. adults from Oct. 2 to Oct. 5, according to Focaldata.
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While no one has yet come forward to throw his hat in the presidential race, Newsom told CNN in September that he would not run in 2028 if Harris decides to campaign again for the Democratic presidential nomination.
In a podcast appearance in August, Buttigieg said he was “more inclined” to run for the White House again.
Sen. Chris Van Hollen, D-Maryland, said he was “kicking the tires” on a potential 2028 run in an appearance on NBC’s “Meet the Press” in August.
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On the Republican side, Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas fueled speculation about another White House bid. “It’s no secret that I want to be president,” Cruz said on Texas Gov. Dan Patrick’s podcast in August.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio was not so direct. “I don’t know what the future holds, but I don’t have any plans at this point,” Rubio said during an official visit to Colombia in September. “Now I’m not a candidate for anything. And I’m 100 percent focused on my job.”
Trump’s popularity is falling
US President Donald Trump’s overall approval rating remained stubbornly low at 34 percent, the Financial Times reported, citing its survey. It claimed that 45 percent of registered voters said the president made it difficult for Republican candidates to win in November.
Registered voters said they preferred Democrats to Republicans by more than 5 percentage points, according to an FT poll that revealed broad disapproval of Trump’s policy priorities on artificial intelligence and Iran.
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The findings were reportedly consistent with the Cook Political Report’s assessment of a deteriorating election environment for Republicans. The nonpartisan recently shifted 18 House elections toward Democrats in his racial competitiveness rankings, projecting Democrats to pick up between nine and 19 House seats in November.
In May 2026, a Focaldata x Financial Times poll reported that Donald Trump’s overall approval rating remained fairly stable at 37 percent in that poll, but that the 55 percent “disapproval rate is the highest we’ve seen in 2026”.