With midterms mostly in the rearview, a new Reuters/Ipsos poll shows which potential 2028 presidential election contenders voters are leaning toward.
Surveyed Republican voters favored Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Vice President JD Vance, while U.S. Sen. Jon Ossoff, D-Georgia, and former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg led with Democratic voters.
The poll surveyed 1,705 adults nationwide, including about 500 registered voters from each party on Nov. 9 and had a margin of error of 5 percentage points.
None of the politicians named in the poll have formally launched campaigns, and it's still early in the cycle.
A recent CNN/SSRS poll, conducted about a month before midterms, also showed less than half of Americans are looking forward
to the upcoming 2028 presidential election.
Poll: Rubio ahead of Vance as GOP voters' 2028 hopeful
Around 45% of Republican voters surveyed in the Reuters/Ipsos poll said they believed Rubio would be an "excellent" presidential candidate.
Slightly fewer respondents – 43% – said the same of Vance. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis was also rated an excellent option by 32% of those surveyed.
Neither Rubio, Vance or DeSantis have explicitly announced intentions to run in 2028.
President Donald Trump said in a Nov. 8 "60 Minutes" interview that he would "not necessarily" endorse a candidate in 2028. He did say, besides Vance, Rubio is "great."
Ossoff, Buttigieg 2028 favorites for Democratic voters, poll shows
Twenty-nine percent of Democratic voters polled each rated Ossoff and Buttigieg "excellent" options for the 2028 ticket.
Other Democratic contenders, including former Vice President Kamala Harris and California Gov. Gavin Newsom, were each rated excellent candidates by 23% of respondents. U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-New York, also got that rating from 15% of those surveyed.
Ossoff has repeatedly denied that he has any interest in the 2028 race, and committed to serving his full six-year term upon reelection this year.
Meanwhile, Buttigieg said on "The Diary of a CEO" podcast in August that he is "more inclined than not" to run for president again.
"I think I'm more inclined than not, but there's so much we don't know," Buttigieg said. "There's so much I don't even know about what's going to happen this year, let alone ... what we need to know later."
What have JD Vance, Marco Rubio said about running for president in 2028?
During a September visit to Columbia, Rubio said he had "no plans" on a presidential bid.
"I don't know what the future holds, but I have no plans at this time," Rubio said. "I'm not a candidate for anything right now. And I’m 100% focused on my job, and I have to be because I have two jobs."
Earlier this month, he told The New York Times he "will not talk about 2028 anymore."
For his part, Vance said during a CBS News town hall on Oct. 18 that "there’s a chance" he won’t run for president in 2028.
"Of course there’s a chance," Vance said, citing his four young children and that second lady Usha Vance "has never loved politics."
Melina Khan is a national trending reporter for USA TODAY. Keep up with her on Instagram @bymelinakhan and TikTok @melina.khan2.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: New poll shows Rubio, Ossoff as leading 2028 election hopefuls
