WJ Straw Poll: Rubio Widens Lead, More Than Doubles Vance’s Support

Secretary of State Marco Rubio continued to widen his lead over Vice President J.D. Vance in The Western Journal’s latest GOP 2028 Presidential Straw Poll.

Rubio received 46.7 percent of the vote in this past week’s survey.

Vance finished second with 20.3 percent of the vote, which was less than half of Rubio’s 46.7 percent.

Rubio’s support increased 2.8 percentage points from the previous week, when he received 43.9 percent of the vote.

Another week of voting is complete, and the results are in! Here’s how The Western Journal’s 2028 GOP Presidential Straw Poll stands after the Oct. 5–11 voting period:

Marco Rubio – 46.7%
JD Vance – 20.3%
Thomas Massie – 15.3%
Donald J. Trump – 6.8%
Ron DeSantis – 6.4%
Other – 4.7%

A new week means another opportunity to make your voice heard! 🇺🇸 Cast your vote at https://t.co/UhPwxhxWh4 and check back next week for the latest results. https://t.co/g44z3VxPN1

— The Western Journal (@WesternJournalX) October 12, 2026

Meanwhile, Vance’s support fell 1.7 points from the previous week’s 22 percent.

The two battled for the top spot repeatedly earlier this year when The Western Journal first launched the weekly survey.

Rubio has consistently outperformed Vance in recent months, and the latest results show his support among readers is continuing to grow.

Rep. Thomas Massie of Kentucky remained in third place this past week, despite another decline in support.

He received a 15.3 percent of the vote, which was down 1.2 points from the previous week’s 16.5 percent.

The latest results are in! 🇺🇸 Here’s where The Western Journal’s 2028 GOP Straw Poll stands after voting for Sept. 28th–Oct. 4th:

Marco Rubio – 43.9%
JD Vance – 22%
Thomas Massie – 16.5%
Donald J. Trump – 8%
Ron DeSantis – 6.3%
Other – 3.3%

A new week means a new vote! Head to The Western Journal’s https://t.co/UhPwxhxWh4
https://t.co/g44z3VxPN1 to make your choice and see where your candidate stands.

— The Western Journal (@WesternJournalX) October 5, 2026

President Donald Trump remained in fourth place this past week, receiving 6.8 percent support.

That was down 1.2 points from the previous week’s 8 percent.

Trump is constitutionally limited to two terms and is not a candidate for another presidential term in 2028, but he has continued to draw support in our weekly straw poll.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis finished in fifth place in our latest survey with 6.4 percent of the vote.

That number was up slightly from the previous week’s 6.3 percent.

The “Other” category in the survey, which includes candidates receiving less than 2 percent individually, accounted for 4.7 percent of the vote. That was up from 3.3 percent the previous week.

The Western Journal will continue tracking reader sentiment about the potential 2028 Republican field until Republican primary voters have the opportunity to be heard at the polls.

If you would like to participate in this week’s survey, you can do so by clicking here.

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