Both Florida politicians tried to take down Donald Trump.
They failed miserably and paid the price.
And a new poll just confirmed one brutal truth about Ron DeSantis and Marco Rubio.
Republican voters have moved on from the Florida duo
A new YouGov survey conducted November 6-9 shows just how badly Ron DeSantis and Marco Rubio damaged their political futures by challenging Trump.¹
The numbers are brutal.
Only 39% of Republican Primary voters even see DeSantis as a potential 2028 nominee, with just 7% picking him as their first choice.¹
Rubio fares even worse at 37% and 5% respectively.¹
Compare that to Vice President JD Vance, who 65% of Republicans are seriously considering, with 42% calling him their top pick.¹
https://twitter.com/ArgoJournal/status/1988630466291704042?s=20
Donald Trump Jr. sits at 45% consideration and 13% first choice.¹
DeSantis and Rubio aren't just trailing — they're political afterthoughts.
The poll surveyed 787 GOP Primary voters and found that both Floridians have been relegated to the sidelines of Republican politics.¹
These aren't temporary dips in support.
Both men tried to stop Trump's political comeback and got steamrolled for their trouble.
Now Republican voters have made it crystal clear they want nothing to do with either of them.
DeSantis bet everything on stopping Trump and lost it all
Remember when Rupert Murdoch's entire media empire was pumping DeSantis as the guy who'd finally take down Trump?²
Fox News couldn't stop talking about him.
Early 2023 polls had DeSantis pulling 25-33% — the only Republican even close to Trump's numbers.²
Then DeSantis announced his campaign on Twitter with Elon Musk.
The stream crashed repeatedly, leaving viewers staring at frozen screens while technical difficulties made the whole thing unwatchable.²
It was so bad that Saturday Night Live didn't even need to exaggerate the mockery.
Trump smelled blood in the water and went for the kill.
He hammered DeSantis over COVID lockdowns, over immigration flip-flops, over everything.²
The big money donors started getting cold feet when DeSantis signed that six-week abortion ban.²
By January 2024, DeSantis quit the race with a grand total of nine delegates.²
Nine.
That's not a campaign — that's a public execution.
https://twitter.com/PpollingNumbers/status/1987933931245543803?s=20
Rubio destroyed himself in one debate and never recovered
Rubio looked like the future back in 2016.
Young, sharp, polling at 15-19% in early surveys after strong debate performances.³
Then he walked into that New Hampshire debate in February.
Chris Christie was waiting for him.
Christie spent the entire night hammering Rubio for robotically repeating the exact same memorized line about Obama over and over.⁴
Rubio kept doing it anyway — like a malfunctioning android stuck in a loop.⁴
The whole country watched him short-circuit on live television.
He finished fifth in New Hampshire.⁴
Fifth.
When the Florida primary rolled around, Trump crushed him in his own home state.⁴
Rubio gave up and endorsed Trump.
Now he's Secretary of State in Trump's Cabinet, and Republican voters still remember watching him freeze up when the pressure was on.
Republican voters want fighters who stand with Trump, not politicians who tried to stop him and failed spectacularly.
The polling makes one thing abundantly clear — challenging Trump destroyed both DeSantis and Rubio's political futures.
Vance succeeded by embracing Trump's agenda completely, even after initially criticizing him.
Trump Jr. carries his father's name and loyal following.
DeSantis and Rubio? They're reminders of what happens when you bet against Trump and lose.
The conservative base has zero interest in giving either one another shot at the White House.
Both men are now stuck watching from the sidelines as Vance and Trump Jr. battle for the 2028 nomination.
That's what political oblivion looks like.
¹ Staff, "Another poll shows Ron DeSantis, Marco Rubio as presidential afterthoughts for Republicans," Florida Politics, November 12, 2025.
² Wikipedia contributors, "Ron DeSantis 2024 presidential campaign," Wikipedia, November 2025.
³ Wikipedia contributors, "Marco Rubio 2016 presidential campaign," Wikipedia, November 2025.
⁴ NPR Staff, "Mega Tuesday Results: Marco Rubio Ends His Presidential Campaign," NPR, March 16, 2016.
