WJ Straw Poll: Thomas Massie Leads Again This Week, But Rubio Is Not Far Behind
Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY) remained on top of The Western Journal’s latest 2028 GOP presidential straw poll for a second consecutive week.
But his lead has shrunk sharply from the previous week.
Our Aug. 24–30 poll saw Massie receive 37.9 percent of the vote, which was down 10.2 percentage points from last week.
That still put the Kentucky Republican comfortably in first place, but with Secretary of State Marco Rubio not far behind in second place.
Rubio received 32.3 percent, gaining 6.2 percentage points from the previous week — leaving Rubio only 5.6 points behind Massie.
🇺🇸Results are in — here’s this week’s GOP 2028 straw poll (Aug. 24-30):
Thomas Massie – 37.9%
Marco Rubio – 32.3%
JD Vance – 17.4%
Donald J. Trump – 5.6%
Ron DeSantis – 5%
Other – 1.7%Don’t like this week’s results? Vote right now at https://t.co/1oRKpBgCdE and share with your… pic.twitter.com/1whiuaKUgX
— The Western Journal (@WesternJournalX) August 31, 2026
Vice President J.D. Vance finished third with 17.4 percent of the vote, and gained 3.2 percentage points from his previous total.
President Donald Trump received 5.6 percent, which was up slightly from 4.9 percent.
Meanwhile, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis received 5 percent support, which was down from 5.1 percent the previous week.
Candidates receiving less than 2 percent are grouped into the “Other” category, which received 1.7 percent this week.
The numbers mark a major change from last week’s poll.
Massie received 47.8 percent in the Aug. 17–23 survey, while Rubio pulled in 25.7 percent.
Vance had 14 percent, followed by DeSantis at 5.1 percent and Trump at 4.9 percent.
Massie surged dramatically last week after the congressman and his supporters shared the poll on X, with many encouraging one another to participate in our non-scientific survey.
The week prior, he polled at 12.7 percent.
If you want your preferred candidate’s name represented in next week’s results, you can make your voice heard by clicking here.
The Western Journal will be tracking reader sentiment about the 2028 Republican primary until voters get a chance to cast their ballots in the primary.
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