Americans favor a 2028 presidential matchup between Vice President JD Vance and failed presidential candidate Kamala Harris, a recent Harvard/Harris survey revealed.
The survey asked Democrats and Republicans separately who they favored as their party’s top choice to stand as the candidate in the next presidential election.
Half of Democrats said they favor former Vice President Kamala Harris, who handily lost to President Donald Trump in the 2024 presidential election after replacing former President Joe Biden in the race. Another 22 percent chose California Gov. Gavin Newsom, followed by nine percent who preferred Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro, eight percent who favored Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, and six percent who said Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker.
As for Republicans, a plurality, 48 percent, said they favor Vance as the next Republican candidate for president, followed by 18 percent who said Donald Trump Jr.
In third place comes Secretary of State Marco Rubio, with 16 percent favoring him as the next GOP candidate for president. Another nine percent chose Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, and four percent said Tucker Carlson.
These preferences coincide with the fact that most, 67 percent, admit to at least giving “some” thought to the next presidential election. Of those, 32 percent said they have given it “a lot” of thought.
The survey was taken April 23-26, 2026, among 2,745 registered voters. It has a +/- 1.87 percent margin of error.
Harris still has not ruled out running for president once more, dropping perhaps the biggest hint during Rev. Al Sharpton’s recent National Action Network convention. When he asked if she planned on running again, she said she “might.”
“Listen, I might, I might. I’m thinking about it,” she said, adding, “I’ll keep you posted.”
She also told Sharpton that she knows “what the job is and what it requires.”
Vance, meanwhile, emerged as the fan favorite at Turning Point USA’s AmericaFest in December, towering over everyone else in the potential field.
Last year, President Donald Trump said he believes two members of his administration could make up the 2028 Republican presidential ticket, deeming Vance and Rubio “unstoppable.”
“We have, JD, obviously, the vice president is great,” he said. “Marco is great… I’m not sure if anybody would run against those two. I think if they ever formed a group, it would be unstoppable. I really do, I believe that.”
Months later, he reiterated his belief that the next GOP candidate is likely in his administration.
“The problem with [Democrats] is they have really bad policy, and I’m not going to say what it is, because I don’t want them to change it necessarily, because I want to run against… It’s not going to be me, it’s going to be somebody that’s… probably sitting at this table,” he said.
“Could be a couple of people sitting at this table. Could be a couple of people running together, sitting at this table, but I want them to win, because we’ve done a great job for this country, and I want that to be carried forward,” Trump added.
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