While the 2026 midterms remain the primary focus of both political parties at present, potential frontrunners for the presidential nominations are already gearing up for 2028 and speculation has abounded as to a possible match-up to succeed President Donald Trump.

Republicans have a fairly narrow field, with Vice President JD Vance the most likely candidate. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, and Texas Sen. Ted Cruz have also attracted attention as alternatives.

The Democratic side, however, is much larger. Former Vice President Kamala Harris remains the clear leader in most polls, though California Gov. Gavin Newsom, former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., are giving her a run for her money.

None have formally announced their campaigns as of yet. So, discussion of the primary races remains necessarily speculative. But polling data has consistently pressed Americans on their preferences, assuming a broader array of candidates is available.

Vance outpolling other Republicans

On the Republican side, Vance consistently polls double-digits ahead of any challenger. The RealClearPolitics polling average currently assigns him 38% support, with potential challenger Rubio's 20.5%, setting up a 19.3% lead.

Republicans also appear to assign considerable weight to the Trump name and Donald Trump Jr. currently ranks third in that metric, with 11.8% support. DeSantis places fourth with 6.6% while Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. earns 4.2%.

Cruz, who has attracted considerable speculation about a possible run, trailed with 3.4%.

The survey aggregate includes eight polls, all of which show Vance with at least a 10-point lead, save one from Emerson, which showed Rubio and Vance nearly tied, though Vance remained ahead.

Should Rubio decline to challenge Vance, the vice president would be all but certain to win the nomination.

Dems may front Kamala version 2.0

On the Democratic end, the race is a bit more split between candidates. Harris still boasts an average 11.3% lead, with 27.9% support to nearest challenger Newsom's 16.6%.

Butitigieg placed third with 11.3% while AOC placed 4th with 8.8%. Other candidates, including Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro, Arizona Sen. Mark Kelly, Georgia Sen. Jon Ossoff, Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker, N.J. Sen. Cory Booker, and Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear, all earned at least 3%.

Notably, Harris's lead is just over half of Vance's. The polling average includes eight polls as well, though she did not match Vance's clean sweep and the Emerson poll showed Buttigieg ahead by 2%.

Though Harris's grasp appears to be slipping to some degree, she may receive a boon from the national party, which decided to place South Carolina as the first presidential primary state in the 2028 cycle. The state is a Republican stronghold and boasts only one Democratic member of the House.

But it is also home to a large black population, a Democratic voting bloc that has sought greater representation in choosing party nominees. Harris is half Indian and half Jamaican. She leaned heavily into both elements of her background during the 2024 campaign. Although unelected by any Democratic nomination process, she was selected to replace Biden on the ticket at the last minute.

Ben Whedon is the Chief Political Correspondent for Just the News. Follow him on X.