Vice President JD Vance won the straw poll at the annual Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) to be the GOP’s 2028 presidential nominee.
However, Secretary of State Marco Rubio appears to be gaining ground on Vance.
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Vance tallied about 53 percent of the vote out of approximately 1,600 attendees.
Rubio finished second at about 35 percent.
Nobody else had more than two percent.
2026 CPAC STRAW POLL: GOP PRIMARY
JD Vance: 53% (-8) Marco Rubio: 35% (+33) Ron DeSantis: 2% (-5) Trump Jr: 2% Ted Cruz: 1% Pete Hegseth: 1% Rand Paul: 1% Tulsi Gabbard: 1%
(+/- shift vs 2025 CPAC Straw Poll)
McLaughlin | 3/28/2026 pic.twitter.com/OeZDEArphZ
— InteractivePolls (@IAPolls2022) March 29, 2026
Reuters has more:
CPAC, which is holding this year’s event in Grapevine, Texas, draws heavily from the Republican Party’s conservative wing. Its annual straw poll is not necessarily a reliable predictor of the eventual nominee. But the poll offers a snapshot
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