{"id":2642708,"date":"2026-08-10T14:35:10","date_gmt":"2026-08-10T18:35:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wj-straw-poll-rubio-remains-the-man-to-beat-as-thomas-massie-gains-ground\/"},"modified":"2026-08-10T14:38:28","modified_gmt":"2026-08-10T18:38:28","slug":"wj-straw-poll-rubio-remains-the-man-to-beat-as-thomas-massie-gains-ground","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wj-straw-poll-rubio-remains-the-man-to-beat-as-thomas-massie-gains-ground\/","title":{"rendered":"WJ Straw Poll: Rubio Remains the Man to Beat as Thomas Massie Gains Ground"},"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\">28<\/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%2Fwj-straw-poll-rubio-remains-the-man-to-beat-as-thomas-massie-gains-ground%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=2642708&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>The Western Journal conducted a weekly presidential straw poll focusing on potential Republican candidates for the 2028 election. In the latest results, Senator Marco Rubio maintained his lead with 43.3% support among participants, despite a slight decrease from previous weeks.Vice President J.D. Vance came in second at 24.4%, also experiencing a modest decline. Congressman Thomas Massie saw the most notable gain, rising to 16.6%, while Donald Trump and Ron desantis followed with 8.9% and 6.4%, respectively.Rubio&#8217;s strong showing highlights his continued prominence among conservative voters, though other candidates like Vance and Massie remain competitive.The poll is non-scientific,serving as a gauge of support until primary voters officially decide.Participants can join the ongoing poll via an online link, and the survey aims to track the evolving landscape of potential Republican nominees for 2028.  <\/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\"><br \/>\n<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC \"-\/\/W3C\/\/DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional\/\/EN\" \"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/TR\/REC-html40\/loose.dtd\"><br \/>\n<?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\" ?><html><body><\/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>Secretary of State Marco Rubio remained firmly in first place in the latest Western Journal weekly presidential straw poll, holding a wide lead over the rest of the Republican field despite a slight dip in support.<\/p>\n<p>Rubio received 43.3 percent of respondents who participated in our <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/weekly-straw-poll-vance-extends-commanding-lead-in-latest-western-journal-survey\/\" title=\"...ly Straw ...: Vance Extends Commanding ... in Latest Western Journal Survey\">weekly straw poll<\/a> during the week of Aug. 3-9.<\/p>\n<p>That was down 0.2 percentage points from the previous week and well short of the 50.3 percent support he hauled in just weeks ago.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">NEW GOP 2028 STRAW POLL RESULTS \ud83d\udea8<\/p>\n<p>Marco Rubio: 43.3%<br \/> JD Vance: 21.9%<br \/> Thomas Massie: 16.6%<br \/> Donald J. Trump: 8.9%<br \/> Ron DeSantis: 6.4%<br \/> Other: 2.8%<\/p>\n<p>Who do you think will be the next 2028 GOP nominee?<\/p>\n<p>Submit a new vote each week at The Western Journal\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/Ki7pr0dk70\">https:\/\/t.co\/Ki7pr0dk70<\/a>\u2026 <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/pWvhZlHWQC\">pic.twitter.com\/pWvhZlHWQC<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 The Western Journal (@WesternJournalX) <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/WesternJournalX\/status\/2086833664256528571?\">August 10, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.x.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>Vice President J.D. Vance finished second with 24.4 percent, and his support also slipped moderately.<\/p>\n<p>Vance was down 0.9 percentage points from the July 27-Aug. 2 poll.<\/p>\n<p>Rep. Thomas Massie, a Republican from Kentucky, posted the biggest gain among the leading candidates this past week.<\/p>\n<p>He climbed to 16.6 percent, an increase of 3.1 percentage points from the previous week.<\/p>\n<p>President Donald Trump came in fourth at 8.9 percent, despite not running again and being term-limited.<\/p>\n<p>His support dropped 2.8 points this past week, yet the sitting president remained the favored candidate for many.<\/p>\n<p>Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis came in fifth at 6.4 percent, gaining 0.6 percent support from the week before.<\/p>\n<p>All other candidates combined to receive 2.8 percent of the vote.<\/p>\n<p>Candidates receiving less than 2 percent are grouped into the \u201cOther\u201d category in the Western Journal\u2019s weekly Straw Poll.<\/p>\n<p>The numbers leave Rubio with a commanding lead as the former longtime Republican lawmaker continues to make an impact on voters as one of the most prominent faces of the Trump administration.<\/p>\n<p>Vance, who has previously posted first place in the weekly survey numerous times, has plenty of time to make up ground with Trump\u2019s current term hitting its halfway mark in the coming months.<\/p>\n<p>Trump has not indicated who he would support as his successor, but the first primary voters will start heading to the polls in about 16 months, which is both hard to believe and right around the corner.<\/p>\n<p>The Western Journal Straw Poll is a non-scientific survey intended to track and gauge the support of potential 2028 candidates until voters have a chance to decide the future of the conservative movement.<\/p>\n<p>You can participate in this week\u2019s survey by <a href=\"https:\/\/forms.westernjournal.com\/strawpoll2028\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">clicking here<\/a>.<\/p>\n<div style=\"background-color: #f7f7f7; color: #171717; display: flex;font-size: 16px;font-weight: 600;line-height: 1.5;margin: 24px 0;padding: 18px 20px 18px 30px;text-align: left;\">\n<div style=\"align-self: stretch;border-left: 3px solid #171717;flex-shrink: 0;padding-left: 20px;\"><\/div>\n<p><a style=\"text-decoration: none;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.google.com\/preferences\/source?q=https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/\">Choose The Western Journal as your preferred source on Google and never miss reporting that defends truth, protects freedom, and advances Western civilization<\/a><\/div>\n<p style=\"border: 1px solid #f5f5f5; padding: 16px;\">Advertise with The Western Journal and reach millions of highly engaged readers, while supporting our work. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/advertise-us\/?wj_source=article\">Advertise Today<\/a>.<\/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( ! ( opts[inputs[i]] = document.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction [name=\"' + inputs[i] + '\"]' ).value ) ) { \t\t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction .required-message' ).style.display = 'block'; \t\t\t\t\t\treturn; \t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction input[type=\"submit\"]' ).style.display = 'none'; \t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction .firefly-sc-submitting-img' ).src = firefly_loading_gif_url; \t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction .firefly-sc-submitting-img' ).style.display = 'inline-block';  \t\t\t\t\tconsole.log( 'ma subbing' );  \t\t\t\t\tif( firefly_post_id ) opts['post_id'] = firefly_post_id;  \t\t\t\t\t\/* Send the data using post with element id name and name2*\/ \t\t\t\t\tvar posting = jQuery.post( firefly_ajax_url, opts );  \t\t\t\t\t\/* Alerts the results *\/ \t\t\t\t\tposting.done( function( response ) { \t\t\t\t\t\tif( response.success ) { \t\t\t\t\t\t\tconsole.log( response.data ); \t\t\t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction .firefly-sc-submitting-img' ).style.display = 'none'; \t\t\t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction .firefly-sc-confirm' ).style.display = 'block';  \t\t\t\t\t\t\tdataLayer.push( { 'event': 'submit-correction' } ); \t\t\t\t\t\t} \t\t\t\t\t}); \t\t\t\t}); \t\t\t} \t\t<\/script> \t     \t\t\t\t\t\t     \t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<p> \t\t\t\t\t \t\t\t<script>console.log(\"ad slot (BA1)\")<\/script> \t\t<\/p>\n<div class=\"ff-fancy-header-container\"> \t\t\t \t<\/div>\n<\/section>\n<p><\/body><\/html><\/p>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Marco Rubio maintains lead in latest Western Journal GOP straw poll with 43.3% support<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2642709,"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\/08\/Ben-Working-Feature-Image-2026-08-10T085935.535.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[33651],"tags":[5894,5438,33196,35762,83936],"class_list":["post-2642708","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-western-journal","tag-politics","tag-rubio","tag-thomas-massie","tag-us-elections","tag-wj-straw-poll"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Ben-Working-Feature-Image-2026-08-10T085935.535.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2642708","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=2642708"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2642708\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2642712,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2642708\/revisions\/2642712"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2642709"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2642708"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2642708"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2642708"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}