Rubio outperforms Vance in hypothetical 2028 match-ups: Poll

Secretary of State Marco Rubio performed slightly better than Vice President Vance in multiple hypothetical 2028 presidential match-ups against Democratic candidates, according to a new poll.

The Emerson College and The Hill survey found that in five match-ups against Democrats, Rubio outperformed Vance in all but one — with former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg holding a 5-point edge against both Republicans.

While Sen. Jon Ossoff (D-Ga.) and California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) both had 5-point leads over Vance, their leads over Rubio were 3 and 2 points, respectively.

Former Vice President Kamala Harris, meanwhile, led Vance with 49 percent support to his 45 percent. But Rubio flipped the script and led Harris by 5 points.

Progressive Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) trailed Vance by 2 points and Rubio by 5 points. Ocasio-Cortez was the only candidate to lose to both Republicans.

At least 6 percent of the 1,000 respondents were undecided in every match-up, with 11 percent undecided in a hypothetical bout between Vance and Ocasio-Cortez.

The Emerson College and The Hill survey had a margin of error of 3 percentage points.

Neither Vance nor Rubio has said publicly whether they will run for president in 2028 , although they are the consensus top two in recent polls of likely GOP voters .

The secretary of State, who finished third in the 2016 GOP primary behind President Trump and Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas), told Vanity Fair last year he will defer to the vice president if he seeks the GOP nomination.

Vance said in June he will discuss a presidential run with his wife, second lady Usha Vance, after the November midterms. Usha Vance gave birth in July to the couple’s fourth child.

“The way I make decisions is, I try not to make them until I absolutely must,” the vice president told Robert Costa on “ CBS Sunday Morning .”

The 2028 GOP primary will be the first without Trump on the ballot since 2012. While the president has not weighed in publicly on his preference between Vance and Rubio, The Washington Post reported earlier this month he recently told donors in the Oval Office, “At the end of the day, we need to elect JD.”

In response to that report, Trump said while Vance is “great,” it is “way too early to even be thinking about that.”

The president has also mentioned a potential Vance-Rubio ticket for 2028. In June, he said the populist Vance and the traditionally conservative Rubio would make “a great team.”

“I don’t know how you beat them if they’re together,” he told Miranda Devine on an episode of the New York Post’s “ Pod Force One .”