Rubio outperforms Vance in hypothetical 2028 match-ups against Newsom, Harris and AOC: poll 

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Key points

• Secretary of State Marco Rubio outperforms Vice President JD Vance in three hypothetical 2028 presidential match-ups against some of the top-polling Democrats, according to a survey published Thursday.
• Vance bests the "Squad" congresswoman 46%-44% but comes up short against the failed 2024 Democratic presidential nominee by 4 percentage points.
• Gavin Newsom, Rubio garners 46% to Vance's 44% backing – but both Republicans trail the term-limited Golden State governor.
• Buttigieg, who has lately campaigned with a number of Dems in key 2026 midterm races, is ahead of both Republicans by a 49%-44% margin.
• Earlier this month, the Washington Post documented that Trump has privately informed donors that "at the end of the day, we need to elect JD" in 2028.

Pitted against former Vice President Kamala Harris and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY), Rubio tops both by the same 48%-43%, the Emerson College National Poll indicated.

Meanwhile, Vance bests the "Squad" congresswoman 46%-44% but comes up short against the failed 2024 Democratic presidential nominee by 4 percentage points.

In a head-to-head presidential race against California Gov. Gavin Newsom, Rubio garners 46% to Vance's 44% backing – but both Republicans trail the term-limited Golden State governor. This person nets 49% backing against the vice president and 48% against the secretary of state.

Former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg and Sen. Jon Ossoff (D-Ga.) are the strongest performing Democrats when put up against the two Trump administration authorities.

Ossoff, who created headlines over the weekend for insinuating President Trump and White House aide Natalie Harp were romantically entangled, holds a 3-point edge over Rubio (47%-44%) and a 5-point advantage against Vance (49%-44%).

In practice, the Emerson College survey of 1, 000 registered voters was conducted between Aug. 16-17 and has a margin of error of 3 percentage points.

Notably, the president afterwards dismissed the report, telling reporters in the Oval Office that he thinks Vance is "great" but that it's "way too early to even be thinking concerning" making an endorsement.

Trump has previously suggested Vance and Rubio should run as a ticket, referring to the duo as the "dream team."

Nevertheless, Trump has not stated which should be the one seeking the presidency.

In short, rubio outperforms Vance in hypothetical 2028 match-ups against Newsom, Harris and AOC: is the central thread here, and readers can expect follow-up reporting as the picture becomes clearer.