Harris, Vance leading in 2028 presidential polling

A new poll found former Vice President Kamala Harris and Vice President Vance leading among potential 2028 presidential candidates.

The Focaldata/Financial Times poll found 30 percent of respondents chose Harris as the 2028 presidential Democratic nominee, while 38 percent picked Vance as the Republican nominee.

In the Democratic primary, 15 percent of respondents supported California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D), 9 percent chose Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.), 9 percent went with former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg and 8 percent chose Sen. Jon Ossoff (D-Ga.).

On the GOP side, Secretary of State Marco Rubio netted 24 percent support from respondents, 9 percent picked Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R), 7 percent chose Donald Trump Jr. and 7 percent picked Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.

Fourteen percent were unsure which candidate they would choose in the Democratic primary and 12 percent were unsure regarding the GOP primary.

Vance entered the presidential conversation when he picked up support from many in President Trump’s inner circle. Trump has also repeatedly egged on the competition between Vance and Rubio for the 2028 Republican nomination. Vance even jokingly likened the competition to the president’s former reality show, “The Apprentice.”

Rubio told donors and other allies that he will not run, particularly against Vance, sources told The Hill . The vice president told NBC News in October, however, that he was focused on the 2026 midterm elections, adding “that’s what I’m going to keep on doing.”

Harris — who lost to Trump in the 2024 presidential election — has reentered the presidential conversation amid her attendance at campaign events for candidates in battleground elections like Michigan Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed.

A longtime donor of Harris’s told The Hill earlier this year that “she’s a smart woman and also isn’t going to do something fruitless for no reason” if she decides that the support is not there.

Newsom said earlier this year he would not run for president in 2028 if Harris ran again, pointing out that they would both be fighting over the same supporters.

Ossoff, meanwhile, told WSB-TV in August he had “zero interest in running for president in 2028.” Ocasio-Cortez said she will make a choice on whether to make a presidential bid following the midterms.

The Focaldata/Financial Times poll was conducted among 2,553 U.S. adults from Oct. 2-5. The Hill has reached out to Focaldata for the poll’s margin of error.