Vice President JD Vance tops CPAC’s straw poll to be US president in 2028
Al Jazeera • • nation
Key Points:
- United States Vice President JD Vance has won the 2026 Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) straw poll for the second consecutive year, securing 53% of nearly 1,600 votes as the preferred Republican candidate for the 2028 presidential election.
- Secretary of State Marco Rubio, a former Florida senator and senior Trump official, significantly improved his standing to 35% of the vote, moving up from a tie for fourth place in last year’s poll.
- CPAC attendees, who tend to lean far right, gathered amid a critical period for the Republican Party as they prepare for the 2024 midterm elections and face declining approval ratings for former President Trump, who is barred by law from seeking a third term.
- Vance represents an isolationist faction of the MAGA base, opposing most foreign conflicts, while Rubio is viewed as more hawkish, especially regarding regime change in Cuba; both had previously criticized Trump before joining his administration.
- Historically, CPAC straw polls have reflected shifts within the Republican Party, showing a consolidation around Trump’s politics since 2016, though the poll’s predictive accuracy is limited, as seen when Trump finished third in the 2016 CPAC poll before winning the presidency.
