Ron DeSantis, Marco Rubio battle for second place in 2028 GOP poll

Ron DeSantis and Marco Rubio.

If it weren’t for Vice President JD Vance, the 2028 Republican presidential race might come down to a battle between two Florida men according to one new poll.

Gov. Ron DeSantis has 9% support and Secretary of State Marco Rubio is at 7% in an Echelon Insights poll conducted between July 10 and July 14.

While both men are far behind the Ohio Republican’s 42%, they nonetheless are in second and third place, respectively, in the survey, and at least incrementally ahead of the rest of the hypothetical field.

The only other names polled with more than 1% support are former United Nations Ambassador Nikki Haley (6%), Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. (5%), Ohio gubernatorial candidate Vivek Ramaswamy (4%), U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz (3%) and Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders (3%).

President Donald Trump, widely expected to be the kingmaker when the calendar gets closer to early state Primaries and Caucuses, has praised both Rubio and DeSantis recently. The former was namechecked overtly as a potential successor in May, while the latter was lavishly praised at the soft opening of “Alligator Alcatraz” earlier this month.

“We have blood that seems to match pretty well,” Trump said of DeSantis.

Polls have shown both Rubio ahead of DeSantis and DeSantis ahead of Rubio, with both far behind the Vice President. However, with years to go until the presidential race becomes less hypothetical, both men are proving to be sticky with at least a sliver of the electorate.