Vice President JD Vance waves as he departs Air Force Two at Rocky Mount-Wilson Regional Airport in Elm City, N.C., on March 13, 2026. Kent Nishimura/Getty Images
Vice President JD Vance is the leading candidate to take the Republican nomination for president in 2028, according to a straw poll taken at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) on March 28.
Vance received 53 percent of the support of the people who attended the annual conference in Grapevine, Texas. Secretary of State Marco Rubio was in second place at 35 percent. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and Donald Trump Jr. came in at 2 percent each. Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas), War Secretary Pete Hegseth, Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.), Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard, and Texas Gov. Greg Abbott all had 1 percent support.