JD Vance keeps racking up endorsements for 2028.
Two Florida Republicans thought they had a shot at the White House.
But Marco Rubio and Ron DeSantis just got humiliated in one poll that should terrify them.
Vance dominates Turning Point USA straw poll in historic fashion
Turning Point USA just wrapped its first AmericaFest conference since Charlie Kirk's assassination in September.
And the results of their presidential straw poll should send chills down the spines of Marco Rubio and Ron DeSantis.
Vice President JD Vance crushed the competition with 84% support among attendees.¹
That's the highest support any candidate has received in the history of Turning Point's straw polls.
Meanwhile, Rubio limped in at 5% and DeSantis barely registered with 3%.²
Translation: the conservative grassroots movement that helped elect Trump twice just told Florida's top Republicans to sit down and shut up.
Erika Kirk, who took over Turning Point after her husband's murder, made the results official Thursday night when she endorsed Vance from the AmericaFest stage.
https://twitter.com/IAPolls2022/status/2003185136624697579?s=20
"We are going to get my husband's friend JD Vance elected for 48 in the most resounding way possible," Kirk told thousands of young conservatives.³
Charlie Kirk and Vance were close friends, and Kirk had essentially been backing Vance for months before his death.
Now his widow is throwing the full weight of one of the most powerful grassroots organizations in conservative politics behind Trump's Vice President.
The Florida men who can't catch a break
This isn't just embarrassing for Rubio and DeSantis.
It's a complete collapse.
Both men ran for President before and lost badly to Trump.
Rubio got humiliated during the 2016 primary when Trump nicknamed him "Little Marco" and destroyed his political career.
DeSantis crashed and burned in 2024 after blowing through over $150 million and finishing a distant third in Iowa.
Now they're both stuck in Trump's Cabinet watching Vance lap them.
The numbers tell the ugly story both men don't want to talk about.
Every major poll shows the same pattern: Vance dominates, everyone else fights for scraps.
https://twitter.com/Villgecrazylady/status/2003488916909756848?s=20
An April Atlas Intel poll had Vance at 60% with Rubio and DeSantis tied at 9%.⁴
A summer Echelon Insights survey showed Vance at 42% while DeSantis managed 9% and Rubio scraped together 7%.⁵
Even in California, where Republicans are desperate for any viable candidate, Vance crushes them with 52% compared to Rubio's 11% and DeSantis' 6%.⁶
DeSantis keeps insisting he's "not thinking about anything" regarding 2028.
That's probably smart since voters clearly aren't thinking about him either.
Rubio plays the loyal soldier game, telling Fox News that Vance would make a "great nominee."
But you can bet he's not thrilled about getting embarrassed in his home state by Trump's Vice President.
Trump's shadow looms over 2028
President Trump hasn't officially endorsed Vance for 2028.
But he's done everything except hold a press conference to announce it.
Trump called Vance his "most likely" heir apparent during a White House press gaggle last month.
He also suggested Rubio might "get together with JD in some form" — which sounds like Trump telling Rubio to accept the VP slot on a Vance ticket.⁷
https://twitter.com/BlakeSNeff/status/2003170212368253244?s=20
That's retreat mode.
The Trump campaign has been quietly padding Vance's political war chest by directing 5% of fundraising proceeds to his PAC.⁸
That gives Vance valuable donor data and cash while keeping his own fundraising focused on the RNC.
And Trump made Vance the first sitting Vice President to serve as RNC finance chair.
That keeps him connected to every major Republican donor three years before the primary starts.
Trump is positioning Vance as the continuation of MAGA without Trump.
And conservative activists are eating it up.
The Turning Point poll found that 88% of attendees identified as Republican and 95% as conservative.⁹
This isn't some fringe group.
These are the young activists who powered Trump's victories in 2016 and 2024.
And they're telling establishment Republicans like Rubio and DeSantis that their time has passed.
Looking forward to 2028
Rubio and DeSantis are running out of time to turn things around.
Vance hasn't even officially announced he's running yet and he's already locking down major endorsements.
Turning Point USA is now building out operations in Iowa, New Hampshire, and Nevada specifically to support Vance.¹⁰
These are the early primary states that make or break campaigns.
https://twitter.com/EFischberger/status/2003194078952042780?s=20
And the most influential conservative youth organization in America is putting its entire operation behind Trump's Vice President.
DeSantis learned the hard way in 2024 that you can't beat Trump's chosen successor.
He spent a fortune trying to convince voters he was "Trump without the baggage."
Voters told him they'd rather have Trump with the baggage.
Now Vance is Trump's hand-picked heir with Trump actively campaigning for him behind the scenes.
Good luck beating that.
Rubio might salvage some dignity by accepting a VP slot on a Vance ticket.
At least then he gets to stay in Washington and keep pretending he matters.
DeSantis should probably start thinking about his post-gubernatorial career.
Maybe he can get a show on Fox News alongside all the other failed Republican presidential candidates.
Because this Turning Point poll just confirmed what everyone already knew.
The 2028 Republican primary is JD Vance's race to lose.
Everyone else is just fighting to be his running mate.
¹ Peter Pinedo, "Turning Point poll reveals conservatives 'all in' for JD Vance 2028 presidential run," Fox News, December 22, 2025.
² Ibid.
³ "Erika Kirk endorses JD Vance for president in 2028," ABC News, December 19, 2025.
⁴ A.G. Gancarski, "Poll: Marco Rubio, Ron DeSantis tied in 2028 GOP presidential survey, 50+ points behind JD Vance," Florida Politics, April 18, 2025.
⁵ A.G. Gancarski, "Ron DeSantis, Marco Rubio battle for second place in 2028 GOP poll," Florida Politics, July 14, 2025.
⁶ A.G. Gancarski, "Poll: Marco Rubio, Ron DeSantis far behind with California Republicans looking at 2028," Florida Politics, December 3, 2025.
⁷ Henry J. Gomez, "Trump helps pad JD Vance's political fund as questions about 2028 loom," NBC News, September 9, 2025.
⁸ Ibid.
⁹ Peter Pinedo, "Turning Point poll reveals conservatives 'all in' for JD Vance 2028 presidential run," Fox News, December 22, 2025.
¹⁰ "Turning Point set to boost JD Vance for president in key states after Erika Kirk's endorsement," ABC News, December 23, 2025.
