Vice President Kamala Harris and Vice President-elect JD Vance are the leading contenders in hypothetical 2028 Democrat and Republican presidential primaries, according to a new poll.
The Echelon Insights survey released on Monday shows that Harris holds a comfortable, double-digit lead among possible presidential hopeful despite her loss to President-elect Donald Trump. It also shows that Vance is the strongest contender among a pack of potential GOP candidates.
The survey provides some insight into the future of both parties even before the dust settles from the 2024 presidential election.
The poll was conducted from Nov. 14–18 and surveyed 1,010 likely voters with a margin of error of 3.5 percentage points.
Poll: Harris Leads in 2028 Democratic Primary
Participants were asked who they would vote for if the 2028 Democratic presidential primary was held today.
At 41 percent, Harris led the pack of 14 potential candidates.
California Gov. Gavin Newsom took the second spot at 8 percent, followed by Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro at 7 percent.
Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg and Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, Harris’ former running mate, both received 6 percent support, according to the poll.
Notably, 16 percent of survey respondents said they were “unsure” which candidate they would support if the vote was held today.
The new data shows that Harris appears to still be fresh on the minds of voters despite her recent loss to Trump.
Poll: Vance Leads in 2028 Republican Primary
The Echelon Insights poll also asked survey respondents who they would vote for if the 2028 Republican presidential primary were held today.
At 37 percent, Vance leads the pack of potential GOP presidential hopefuls.
Former presidential candidates Vivek Ramaswamy and Nikki Haley followed behind Vance at 9 percent.
Florida Gov. Ron Desantis received 8 percent support.
Democrats: What Now?
Democrats have entered a second Trump term without a clear leader.
The 2024 election results have panned out to be an ideal situation for Republicans, who won control of both chambers of Congress and the presidency.
On the campaign trail, Harris told voters that she represented a new generation of leadership. She also tried to distance herself from President Joe Biden.
Even though Harris has emerged as the top contender in the 2028 presidential poll, some Democrat lawmakers believe that the party must now start with a clean slate.
“I think there needs to be a cleaning of the house, there needs to be a new generation of leaders that emerge,” Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.) said following the election. “There needs to be new thinking, new ideas and a new direction. And, you know, the establishment produced a disaster.”
In her concession speech, Harris said the nation must accept the election results but urged supporters to keep fighting.
Maryland resident Jay Evans, said that Harris was the right candidate at the right time for the country.
“We’re partly sad, because hearing her speak, she would have been an amazing person to bring the country together and to keep us in a better path,” Evans said following Harris’ concession speech.
However, with Harris’ defeat, American voters sent a clear message about party leadership, according to Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.)
“It should come as no great surprise that a Democratic Party which has abandoned working class people would find that the working class has abandoned them,” Sanders said. “First, it was the white working class, and now it is Latino and Black workers as well. While the Democratic leadership defends the status quo, the American people are angry and want change. And they’re right.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.