{"id":2691823,"date":"2026-10-26T14:42:01","date_gmt":"2026-10-26T18:42:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wj-straw-poll-rubio-opens-massive-lead-over-vance-as-massie-takes-another-hit\/"},"modified":"2026-10-26T14:42:01","modified_gmt":"2026-10-26T18:42:01","slug":"wj-straw-poll-rubio-opens-massive-lead-over-vance-as-massie-takes-another-hit","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wj-straw-poll-rubio-opens-massive-lead-over-vance-as-massie-takes-another-hit\/","title":{"rendered":"WJ Straw Poll: Rubio Opens Massive Lead Over Vance as Massie Takes Another Hit"},"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-opens-massive-lead-over-vance-as-massie-takes-another-hit%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=2691823&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 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><script>console.log(\"ad slot (REP_0)\")<\/script><\/p>\n<p>Secretary of State Marco Rubio strengthened his lead over Vice President J.D. Vance in The Western Journal\u2019s latest GOP 2028 Presidential Straw Poll.<\/p>\n<p>For the first time, he also came just one-tenth of a percent short of grabbing a majority of support among all potential contenders.<\/p>\n<p>Rubio received 49.9 percent of the vote in the survey, which was conducted from Oct. 19-25.<\/p>\n<p>The strong showing was an increase of 1.8 percent in support for Rubio from <a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/wj-straw-poll-rubio-nears-50-percent-massie-loses-ground\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">the previous week<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Vance finished second with 20.2 percent support, less than half of Rubio\u2019s total. The vice president lost 0.4 points from the previous week\u2019s 20.6 percent.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">The latest results from The Western Journal\u2019s 2028 GOP Presidential Straw Poll are in! \ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\uddf8 Take a look at how the candidates stand following the Oct. 19\u201325 voting period:<\/p>\n<p>Marco Rubio \u2013 49.9%<br \/> JD Vance \u2013 20.2%<br \/> Thomas Massie \u2013 11.1%<br \/> Donald J. Trump \u2013 8.3%<br \/> Ron DeSantis \u2013 6.2%<br \/> Other \u2013 4.2%<\/p>\n<p>Another week of voting is underway, so head to https:\/\/t.co\/UhPwxhxWh4 to cast your vote and take the opportunity to make your voice heard!<br \/> https:\/\/t.co\/g44z3VxPN1<\/p>\n<p>\u2014 The Western Journal (@WesternJournalX) <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/WesternJournalX\/status\/2114736701251731613?\">October 26, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.x.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>Rubio now leads Vance by 29.7 percentage points, further widening his advantage in this weekly, non-scientific survey.<\/p>\n<p>When The Western Journal first launched the weekly survey earlier this year, Rubio and Vance were the favored potential contenders of a majority of participants.<\/p>\n<p>Rubio has consistently outperformed Vance in recent months, and his support continues to trend toward an outright majority.<\/p>\n<p>Rep. Thomas Massie of Kentucky remained in third place, and also continued to lose ground.<\/p>\n<p>Massie received 11.1 percent of the vote, which was down 1.6 percent from the previous week\u2019s 12.7 percent.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">The latest results are in! Here\u2019s where the candidates stand in The Western Journal\u2019s 2028 GOP Presidential Straw Poll following the Oct. 12\u201318 voting period:<\/p>\n<p>Marco Rubio \u2013 48.1%<br \/> JD Vance \u2013 20.6%<br \/> Thomas Massie \u2013 12.7%<br \/> Donald J. Trump \u2013 8.7%<br \/> Ron DeSantis \u2013 5.8%<br \/> Other \u2013 4.2%<\/p>\n<p>The race continues, and your vote could help shape next week\u2019s results!<br \/> Head to https:\/\/t.co\/UhPwxhxWh4 to cast your vote and see how the standings change. https:\/\/t.co\/g44z3VxPN1<\/p>\n<p>\u2014 The Western Journal (@WesternJournalX) <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/WesternJournalX\/status\/2112207900269482217?\">October 19, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.x.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>President Donald Trump finished fourth with 8.3 percent support, down 0.4 points from his previous showing of 8.7 percent.<\/p>\n<p>Trump is constitutionally limited to two terms and is not eligible to seek another presidential term in 2028, but he continues to draw support in the weekly straw poll.<\/p>\n<p>Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis finished in fifth place with 6.2 percent of the vote, gaining 0.4 percentage points from the previous week\u2019s 5.8 percent.<\/p>\n<p>The \u201cOther\u201d category, which includes candidates receiving less than 2 percent of the vote individually, accounted for 4.2 percent of responses.<\/p>\n<p>That was unchanged from the previous week, when other candidates also received a 4.2 percent  of the vote.<\/p>\n<p>Rubio and DeSantis were the only listed candidates to gain ground from week to week, but Rubio has emerged as the clear favorite for almost a majority of our readers.<\/p>\n<p>The Western Journal will continue tracking reader sentiment about the potential 2028 Republican field until Republican primary voters have the opportunity to make their voices heard at the polls.<\/p>\n<p>If you would like to participate in this week\u2019s survey, you can do so 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 method=\"post\" 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(); window.WJFormsSecure ? WJFormsSecure.submitCorrection() : 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\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>Secretary of State Marco Rubio strengthened his lead over Vice President J.D. Vance in The Western Journal\u2019s latest GOP 2028 Presidential Straw Poll. For the first time, he also came just one-tenth of a percent short of grabbing a majority of support among all potential contenders. Rubio received 49.9 percent of the vote in the<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2691824,"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\/10\/Rubio-vs-Vance.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[33651],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2691823","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-western-journal"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/Rubio-vs-Vance.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2691823","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=2691823"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2691823\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2691824"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2691823"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2691823"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2691823"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}