According to America Fest's straw poll conducted at the event, Vice President-elect J.D. Vance is the Republican Party's frontrunner for the 2028 presidential election.
The straw poll also included a question that went beyond President-elect Donald Trump's second term, asking participants who they expected to be the Republican presidential nominee in 2028.
A majority, 58%, want Vance to be their presidential candidate in 2028. In second place is Donald Trump Jr. with 17%. Another 6% said they wanted Florida Governor Ron DeSantis to be their presidential candidate in 2028, and 11% were undecided.
Conversely, 35% of people think California Governor Gavin Newsom will emerge as the Democratic candidate in 2028. Only 17% of people thought the vice president would be Kamala Harris, and 16% thought it would be Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro. Four percent said it would be Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.), and 1.6% said it would be Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg.
The survey also asked respondents which Cabinet nomination they were most excited about, and many cited Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who is slated to head Health and Human Services (HHS). Another 31% said Kash Patel, the slated FBI director.
“When asked to rank all of President Trump's top players, Patel came out in first place,” Charlie Kirk said.
The findings were announced shortly after AmericaFest, which was held from December 19th to 22nd, 2024.
Mr. Vance remains popular among conservatives and has supported President Trump's cabinet picks, including Secretary of Defense nominee Pete Hegseth, who remains the victim of a consistent smear campaign by Democrats and the morass.
“Pete Hegseth will have a hearing before the Senate Armed Services Committee, not a sham hearing in front of the American media,” he said in defense of his nominee.
We believe Pete Hegseth is the right person to lead the Department of Defense, which is why President Trump nominated him. We have no intention of abandoning this nomination. We are not going to make it easy for the public to let the media decide who the Secretary of Defense is. Donald J. Trump won the election by a very large margin with the advice and consent of the United States Senate. That determines who the Secretary of Defense is.
“I fully support Pete. I think Pete will be approved and we fully support him,” Vance added.
Many had speculated that Mr. DeSantis had ruined his chances in 2028 after a brutal battle with Mr. Trump in the primaries, but he continued to support the president-elect in public. has remained relatively out of the spotlight.
