JD Vance may be best in the west.
Nevada looks likely to be the first western state to weigh in on the 2028 Republican Presidential Primary.
And that may be bad news for Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Gov. Ron DeSantis, according to new polling from Emerson College.
Vice President JD Vance leads among 310 Republican Primary voters polled with 63% support, while 7% back Rubio and 6% support DeSantis. Another 12% are undecided, and no other potential candidate even has 4% support.
These results conform with most other state and national polling, which shows Vance with majority support and Rubio and DeSantis way back.
Both Rubio and DeSantis have sidestepped any talk of future presidential ambitions. Rubio has said Vance would be a “great nominee,” with President Donald Trump suggesting Rubio as “somebody that maybe would get together with JD in some form.”
DeSantis says he’s “not thinking about anything” regarding a 2028 run, and criticized “jockeying” among those who look to succeed Trump.
In 2016, Rubio finished second to Trump in Nevada, a result which seemed at the time to signal the latter’s move from improbability to inevitability as the GOP nominee.
DeSantis withdrew from the 2024 race before Nevada’s nominating contests, but ahead of that move, he had plenty to say about the process in the state.
He alleged that party leaders sought to “rig” results for Trump by opting for a caucus. DeSantis’ former roommate, Adam Laxalt, who had been seen as an inroad into Nevada, left the Never Back Down super PAC around that time.
DeSantis was around 10%, give or take a few points in either direction, in most polls before he withdrew.
