The 2028 Presidential Election is a contentious subject among voters as growing interest emerges about who the potential candidates for both parties will be. Additionally, the question remains, where will Gen Z’s interests and political standings align during this upcoming election?  

There are several strong candidates for the Republican Party. However, US Vice President, J.D. Vance has the best odds of being elected President in 2028, at 28% in the betting market. 

Following Vance at 23% is the Governor of California, Gavin Newsom, making the two men the likely front-runners for the election.  

Other potential Republican candidates include the U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio at 3.5% odds, Ron DeSantis at 1.5%, and President Trump’s children, Donald Trump Jr. and Ivanka Trump, who are estimated to have marginal chances of winning: 1.3% and 1.9%, respectively.

Meanwhile, some other possible Democrat candidates include Kamala Harris at 1.9%, Pete Buttigieg at 2.3%, and, interestingly, actor Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson with 4.3% odds. Additionally, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (AOC) is polling at 12% behind Gov. Gavin Newsom, and has strong potential as a Democratic candidate, as she has been increasingly promoted as the Midterms approach, especially after she joined Bernie Sanders’ “Fighting Oligarchy” tour earlier this year. 

But what does Gen Z think about all of this? According to an article by Newsweek, “young Americans are supporting the Republican Party in greater numbers,” as a recent Yale Youth Poll revealed a political divide among generations under 30. The poll revealed that voters aged 18 to 21 are generally more Republican, whereas voters aged 22 to 29 lean more Democratic. 

The pollsters surveyed 4,100 registered voters between April 1 and April 3, including 2,024 voters aged 18 to 29. The Poll found that Vice President JD Vance was the most popular potential candidate among Republicans, with a net favorability rating of +65 overall and +54 among Republican voters under 30. The poll found that over 53% of Republicans expressed support for Vance if he ran in the 2028 GOP primary. 

This conservative shift among young voters helped President Trump win the 2024 election, a drastic departure from the way younger generations traditionally voted Democrat. If this right-leaning trend continues with Gen Z, there is a high likelihood that Republicans will win the 2028 Presidency.