{"id":2585998,"date":"2026-04-01T08:51:01","date_gmt":"2026-04-01T12:51:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/the-votes-are-in-jd-vance-absolutely-dominates-2028-gop-field-2nd-only-to-trump-in-all-time-support-at-cpac\/"},"modified":"2026-04-01T08:52:54","modified_gmt":"2026-04-01T12:52:54","slug":"the-votes-are-in-jd-vance-absolutely-dominates-2028-gop-field-2nd-only-to-trump-in-all-time-support-at-cpac","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/the-votes-are-in-jd-vance-absolutely-dominates-2028-gop-field-2nd-only-to-trump-in-all-time-support-at-cpac\/","title":{"rendered":"The Votes Are In: JD Vance Absolutely Dominates 2028 GOP Field &#8211; 2nd Only to Trump in All Time Support at CPAC"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">44<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fthe-votes-are-in-jd-vance-absolutely-dominates-2028-gop-field-2nd-only-to-trump-in-all-time-support-at-cpac%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2585998&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>&#8211; At CPAC this year, Vice President J.D. vance led the straw poll for the 2028 Republican presidential nomination with 53% of the vote, the strongest showing since Trump for a non-president, though his 53% is a slight dip from 2025\u2019s 61%.<\/p>\n<p>&#8211; Marco Rubio followed in second place with 35% support, making him a clear contender; this marks a notable gain from his 3% at the 2025 CPAC.<\/p>\n<p>&#8211; Donald Trump and Florida Governor Ron desantis each drew about 2% of the vote, while five other candidates registered around 1%.<\/p>\n<p>&#8211; The New York Times notes that CPAC straw polls have not historically been reliable predictors of the eventual primary winner.<\/p>\n<p>&#8211; National polling shows Trump\u2019s approval at about 41% with disapproval around 56.8%,and a strikingly high disapproval among 18-29-year-olds,at roughly 76%.<\/p>\n<p>&#8211; The article underscores a divergence between the president\u2019s base and broader independent and younger voters, suggesting that conservatism\u2019s internal polling may overstate support if the wider electorate\u2019s mood isn\u2019t favorable.<\/p>\n<p>&#8211; It argues that independents and other factions are less supportive of ongoing conflict in Iran, and that conservatives should heed broader public sentiment to avoid losses in 2026 and 2028, beyond internal GOP polling.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<p><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><\/p>\n<section> \t\t\t\t<script>console.log(\"ad slot (AC1)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (IC1)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (IC2)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (IC3)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (IC4)\")<\/script><\/p>\n<p>Even as President Donald Trump&rsquo;s overall approval faces challenges from independents, Democrats, and young voters, his <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/rnc-members-deny-mcdaniel-reelection-as-chair-is-a-lock\/\" title=\"RNC Members Deny McDaniel Reelection as Chair Is a Lock\">support remains strong<\/a> with his base, and his top lieutenant remains popular with conservatives. Or, should we say, his top <em>two<\/em> lieutenants.<\/p>\n<p>On Saturday, according to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2026\/03\/28\/us\/politics\/vance-rubio-cpac-straw-poll.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">The New York Times<\/a>, Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) organizers announced the results of a straw poll showing Vice President J.D. Vance as conference attendees&rsquo; overwhelming choice for the 2028 Republican presidential nomination.<\/p>\n<p>In fact, no candidate since Trump himself has dominated the CPAC poll the way Vance has.<\/p>\n<p>At this year&rsquo;s conference, the vice president received 53 percent of the vote. That number represented a modest drop off from 2025, when Vance registered 61 percent support.<\/p>\n<p>Meanwhile, as <a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/game-changing-video-trump-says-walz-ellison-omar-criminally-complicit-somali-fraud-charges-vance-bringing-justice\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Vance&rsquo;s<\/a> prospective candidacy remains strong, another top Trump administration official has surged.<\/p>\n<p> <script type=\"text\/javascript\"> \t\t\tif ( getCookie( \"ff_subbed\" ) ) { \t\t\t\tdocument.getElementById(\"anyclipvideo\").remove() \t\t\t} else { \t\t\t\tdocument.addEventListener(\"DOMContentLoaded\", function() { \t\t\t\t\tfunction loadAnyclip() { \t\t\t\t\t\tconst container=document.getElementById(\"anyclipvideo\"); \t\t\t\t\t\tif (!container) return;  \t\t\t\t\t\tconst script=document.createElement(\"script\"); \t\t\t\t\t\tscript.src=\"https:\/\/player.anyclip.com\/anyclip-widget\/lre-widget\/prod\/v1\/src\/lre.js\"; \t\t\t\t\t\tscript.setAttribute(\"pubname\", \"westernjournalcom\"); \t\t\t\t\t\tscript.setAttribute(\"widgetname\", \"001w000001jULVcAAO_M12924\");  \t\t\t\t\t\t\/\/ append inside the container so player shows in correct spot \t\t\t\t\t\tcontainer.appendChild(script); \t\t\t\t\t} \t\t\t\t\tfunction findPreviousParagraph(selector, x) { \t\t\t\t\t\tconst targetElement=document.querySelector(selector); \t\t\t\t\t\tif (!targetElement) { \t\t\t\t\t\t\tconsole.warn(\"Target element not found.\"); \t\t\t\t\t\t\treturn null; \t\t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\t\t\/\/ Get all <\/p>\n<p> elements in order as they appear in the document \t\t\t\t\t\tlet paragraphs=Array.from(document.querySelectorAll(\"p\"));  \t\t\t\t\t\t\/\/ Find the index of the last <\/p>\n<p> before the target element \t\t\t\t\t\tlet targetIndex=paragraphs.findIndex(p=> p.compareDocumentPosition(targetElement) & Node.DOCUMENT_POSITION_PRECEDING);  \t\t\t\t\t\tif (targetIndex===-1 || targetIndex <x) { \t\t\t\t\t\t\tconsole.warn(\"Not enough paragraphs before the target element.\"); \t\t\t\t\t\t\treturn null; \t\t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\t\treturn paragraphs[targetIndex - x]; \t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\t\/\/ Set up IntersectionObserver \t\t\t\t\tfunction observeElement(element) { \t\t\t\t\t\tif (!element) return;  \t\t\t\t\t\tconst observer=new IntersectionObserver( \t\t\t\t\t\t\t(entries)=> { \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tentries.forEach(entry=> { \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tif (entry.isIntersecting) { \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tconsole.log(\"Paragraph is now visible:\", entry.target.textContent.trim()); \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tloadAnyclip(); \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tobserver.disconnect(); \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t} \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t}); \t\t\t\t\t\t\t}, \t\t\t\t\t\t\t{ threshold: 0.5 } \/\/ Adjust threshold as needed \t\t\t\t\t\t);  \t\t\t\t\t\tobserver.observe(element); \t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\t\/\/ Find the 1st paragraph before #anyclipvideo and observe it \t\t\t\t\tlet paragraphToObserve=findPreviousParagraph(\"#anyclipvideo\", 2); \t\t\t\t\tobserveElement(paragraphToObserve); \t\t\t\t}); \t\t\t} \t\t<\/script> <\/p>\n<p>Secretary of State Marco Rubio earned 35 percent support at this year&rsquo;s conference. While still trailing Vance by a substantial amount, Rubio nonetheless has quickly established himself as a clear contender. After all, at the 2025 CPAC conference the secretary of state earned only three percent support.<\/p>\n<p>As for the rest of the prospective GOP field, well, let&rsquo;s just say that 2028 looks like a two-man race.<\/p>\n<p>Donald Trump Jr. and Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis of Florida each earned a mere two percent of the vote. Rounding out the field, five others barely registered at one percent each. They were: Gov. Greg Abbott of Texas, Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas, Director of National Intelligence <a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/watch-dem-senator-tries-rush-next-question-tulsi-gabbard-gives-answer-doesnt-like\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Tulsi Gabbard<\/a>, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, and Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky.<\/p>\n<p>For comparison&rsquo;s sake, Sunday on the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/the-new-acting-attorney-general-jeff-rosen-recently-wrote-an-essay-on-foreign-influence-in-us-elections-this-tells-us-a-little-about-his-knowledge-of-whats-going-on-today\/\" title=\"The New Acting Attorney General Jeff Rosen Recently Wrote an Essay on Foreign Influence in US Elections \u2013 This Tells Us A Little About His Knowledge of What\u2019s Going On Today\">social media platform<\/a> X, Jack Posobiec of Human Events d a chart showing CPAC straw poll winners and second<a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3YuVZYV\" >-place finishers dating back<\/a> to 2005.<\/p>\n<p>As a sitting president in 2019, Trump won 82 percent of the vote. Then, in 2021, in the wake of the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/report-veteran-cbs-reporter-quit-network-refused-obsess-jan-6-anniversary\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Jan. 6 Capitol incursion<\/a>, the then-former president still prevailed as the first choice of 55 percent of CPAC attendees.<\/p>\n<p>Otherwise, no prospective GOP candidate has come close to Vance&rsquo;s 53 percent support. (Note: Posobiec&rsquo;s chart did not include 2025 results, when Vance earned 61 percent of the vote.)<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">At 53%, JD Vance won the highest CPAC straw poll result in history with the exception of Trump himself <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/ulnqBAmuQx\">pic.twitter.com\/ulnqBAmuQx<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Jack Posobiec (@JackPosobiec) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/JackPosobiec\/status\/2038410462094565860?\">March 30, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>Of course, as the Times noted, the CPAC poll &ldquo;has not historically been a strong predictor of whom Republican voters will ultimately back in a contested primary.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>That lesson bears noting alongside Trump&rsquo;s overall approval numbers.<\/p>\n<p>According to the latest <a href=\"https:\/\/www.realclearpolling.com\/polls\/approval\/donald-trump\/approval-rating\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">RealClearPolling<\/a> aggregate of polls, Trump&rsquo;s approval rating sits at 41 percent overall. Nearly all recent polls show the president underwater by double digits, as his overall disapproval rating has reached 56.8 percent.<\/p>\n<p>The young people &mdash; especially young men &mdash; who helped get Trump elected in 2024 have largely abandoned him, even as older supporters and his core base are sticking strongly by him. The latest evidence for this trend appeared in a <a href=\"https:\/\/docs.google.com\/spreadsheets\/d\/1_Fz7pWK_RfSVQ__18QujNi-QPw5jJIqX\/edit?gid=1851569074#gid=1851569074\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Quantus Insights<\/a> survey last week, which showed the president&rsquo;s overall disapproval rating with the 18-29 age group at a gargantuan 76 percent.<\/p>\n<p>Conservatives might as well face such facts if we want Vance or <a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/rubio-accuses-zelenskyy-telling-significant-lie-us-security-guarantees-knows-not-true\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Rubio&rsquo;s<\/a> current popularity to mean anything in 2028.<\/p>\n<p>While the Iran war is undeniably still favorable among much of the core MAGA base, it&rsquo;s clear that independents, and other parts of the Trump coalition are far from supportive of the ongoing conflict.<\/p>\n<p>Conservatives had best stop congratulating themselves on internal polling and start paying attention to the mood of the broader electorate if we hope to avoid bloodbaths in both 2026 and 2028.<\/p>\n<div style=\"position: relative;\">\n<div class=\"ff-fancy-header-container\"> \t\t\t \t<\/div>\n<div class=\"entry-submit-correction inner-content\">\n<div class=\"correction-form\">\n<form style=\"display: none;\">\n<div class=\"sc-name-field\"> \t\t\t\t\t\t<label>* Name<\/label> \t\t\t\t\t\t<br \/> \t\t\t\t\t\t<input type=\"text\" name=\"name\" required> \t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<div class=\"sc--field\"> \t\t\t\t\t\t<label>* <\/label> \t\t\t\t\t\t<br \/> \t\t\t\t\t\t<input type=\"text\" name=\"\" required> \t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<p> \t\t\t\t\t<label>* Message<\/label> \t\t\t\t\t<br \/> \t\t\t\t\t<textarea name=\"message\" required><\/textarea> \t\t\t\t\t \t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<div class=\"required-message\" style=\"display: none; padding-bottom: 15px;\">* All fields are required.<\/div>\n<p> \t\t\t\t\t<input type=\"submit\" value=\"Submit\" onclick=\"event.preventDefault(); firefly_sc();\"> \t\t\t\t\t \t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<div class=\"firefly-sc-confirm\" style=\"display: none;\">Success!<\/div>\n<\/p><\/form>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p> \t\t<script> \t\t\tfunction firefly_sc() { \t\t\t\tif( typeof window.captchaPublicKey==typeof undefined ){ \t\t\t\t\tconsole.error('window.captchaPublicKey is not defined'); \t\t\t\t} \t\t\t\tgrecaptcha.execute( window.captchaPublicKey, { action: 'submit_correction' } ).then( function( token ) { \t\t\t\t\tvar opts={ \t\t\t\t\t\taction:    'firefly_sc_submit', \t\t\t\t\t\tname:      document.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction [name=\"name\"]' ).value, \t\t\t\t\t\t:     document.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction [name=\"\"]' ).value, \t\t\t\t\t\tmessage:   document.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction [name=\"message\"]' ).value, \t\t\t\t\t\tpost_id:   firefly_post_id, \t\t\t\t\t\tcap_token: token \t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\tvar inputs=[ 'name', '', 'message' ];  \t\t\t\t\tfor( var i=0; i <inputs.length; i++ ) if( ! 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At CPAC over the weekend, Vice President J.D. Vance was the clear favorite for the 2028 Republican nomination, taking 53% of the vote-though this was down from 61% in 2025. Rubio trailed far behind with 35%. Trump Jr. and Florida Governor Ron DeSantis each drew 2%, while five others-Greg Abbott, Ted Cruz, Tulsi Gabbard, Pete Hegseth, and Rand Paul-registered about 1% each. <\/p>\n<p>There\u2019s also ongoing discussion about how much CPAC results predict actual primaries. A widely shared chart noted that Vance\u2019s 53% is one of the strongest showings at CPAC since Trump, though Trump himself still holds a unique place in CPAC history (e.g., 82% in 2019, 55% in 2021 after the Jan. 6 events). The Times pointed out that CPAC polls have not reliably forecast the eventual GOP nominee.<\/p>\n<p>National polling shows Trump with weaker overall approval, around 41%, and a disapproval rate near 57%. Youth voters, especially men aged 18-29, are markedly less supportive-disapproving by about 76%. If Vance or Rubio\u2019s current popularity is to matter for 2028, conservatives may need to consider broader electoral mood beyond internal polling, especially given mixed views on foreign policy among independents and broader segments of the Trump coalition<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2585999,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/Michael-Featured-Image-850.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[33651],"tags":[19858,76941,75924],"class_list":["post-2585998","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-western-journal","tag-cpac","tag-gop-2028","tag-jd-vance-2"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/Michael-Featured-Image-850.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2585998","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2585998"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2585998\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2586002,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2585998\/revisions\/2586002"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2585999"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2585998"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2585998"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2585998"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}