If you were wondering what the pollsters think about who the most likely Presidential nominees might be for 2028, feel free to say no. No, I wasn’t thinking about eating another crap sandwich for a few more years. And you’d be right to feel that way. But every next election starts when the last one ends (sometimes sooner), and keeping in mind how badly most pollsters do, this far out being an unrealistic sample, or some other expletive-laden response, here’s what I stepped in when I clicked on the headline “JD Vance Crushes GOP Poll, Kamala Harris Drops Off Radar.”
It was about a recent Emerson poll, which reported that,
In a hypothetical Republican presidential primary fight, Vance leads the pack with 46% support, followed by Secretary of State Marco Rubio at 12%, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis at 9% and Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. at 5%, according to the Emerson College survey.
Buttigieg, meanwhile, is narrowly leading former Vice President Kamala Harris, 16% to 13%, in a hypothetical Democratic presidential primary, with California Gov. Gavin Newsom (12%), Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro (7%) and “Squad” Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (7%) close behind, the poll says.
So, you’re thinking, this has to be good. No one wanted Kamala in 2020, and they only voted for her to vote against Trump in 2024. Democrats never wanted Joe, but given a 2020 field that included Buttigieg, they ended up with Biden and then were told they had to swallow that stupid pill again until the DNC King Makers realized he couldn’t win. Kalama got squashed in 2024 and would likely do so again, no matter how much practice she has had since last November. Newsom will never survive the Albatross of having California hanging around his neck, and Shapiro sounds Jewish, and Democrats hate Jews.
Occasional Cortex? That’d be like watching Midget mud wrestling. Assuming the midgets have consented. Something you might support as long as no one knew, and you didn’t have to admit to it.
The other issue here is Kennedy. Five percent of Republicans are out of their minds or don’t know any better. RFKJ is the right person in the right place for a job that needed to be done. HHS and all its Health Industrial Complex Offspring needed an unrelenting master who would thin them out and clean them up. I hope he has four good years to accomplish that (and another four after with another GOP president), but as President, he poses a domestic threat on energy, the environment, and a host of other issues.
I like my plumber, but he isn’t doing my heart surgery, my taxes, or replacing my roof.
Kennedy is a true Democrat in the not-quite-as-wacked-out-as-Buttigieg and Sandy Cortez mold. His Defection to MAHA from the vax-pushing, child-mutilating, moonbats guarantees he will never be the Democrat nominee, and he’s an unlikely candidate outside a third party. However, five percent of Republicans still think he’d be a good choice for their party given the other options.
Rubio has been impressive as an anchor of MAGA policy and a surprising advocate for Mr. Trump. Still not sure I trust him based on past alliances with Neo-cons. Robot Ron is fantastic on policy, and I’d take him in the Oval Office in half a non-COVID vax-damaged heartbeat. Still, he has presentation or delivery issues to work out to get past his previous performance on the Presidential on-ramp. His supporters are more exciting than he is, and to get the rest of the voters, you need something JD Vance already has.
Vance has the ingredients without being Trump’s number two. Young, interesting, and he makes great get the fuck outta here faces. He’s awesome unscripted, fast on his mental feet, and knows the material. He’s also the most likely to leave Trump’s team in place and carry that legacy forward. The individual who holds the MAGA flame for the next four years of a transition that I’ve long claimed will take two to three presidencies at a minimum to complete successfully.
It makes sense why he’s at the top of the list this early, and the near-constant public exposure has helped, not hurt. Vance has accomplished a million times more “things” in a few months than Kamala did in four years, unless dodging responsibility, lying, or doing nothing count as accomplishments.
If the best the Dem bench can cough up (like a cat with a hairball) is Buttigieg, they might as well give up now. He was probably the worst Secretary of Transportation ever. Being cute and gay, any lying about riding a bike to work might make Dems applaud, but his record speaks for itself. A guy who can’t run one agency isn’t exactly Oval Office material, which is bad news for Lefties. Kamala’s never run anything well, including a Presidential campaign, and aside from spending other people’s money, there isn’t much to talk about except that they won’t be Vance or Rubio, or whoever sidles up for a chance to replace Mr. Trump.
There will be many, and we’ve got a lot to go through before then. The midterms, for one, will change the entire landscape, and those races are just starting to form up. Let’s win those first and then worry about 2028 the day after.
