The Republican Party may already have a massive 2028 surprise brewing — and according to one longtime GOP pollster, it’s not Vice President JD Vance, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, or any of the usual Republican heavyweights.
It’s Candace Owens.
And political insiders are starting to realize this may not be a joke.
Republican strategist and pollster Sarah Longwell says Owens’ name keeps surfacing again and again in focus groups with Trump voters — including among people who previously voted for President Joe Biden before switching to President Donald Trump.
Speaking about one focus group conducted for The Bulwark, Longwell revealed that several participants openly described Owens as someone they would support for president immediately.
“I think Candace Owens is great. I would vote for her in a minute,” one North Carolina voter reportedly said during the session.
Another participant went even further.
“If we would’ve swapped out Candace for Kamala, they would’ve had this in the bag,” the voter claimed, referencing former Vice President Kamala Harris.
The comments stunned many political observers because Owens has never held elected office and remains one of the most polarizing media figures in American politics.
Still, Longwell warned that establishment Republicans may be dangerously underestimating what’s happening inside the MAGA movement.
According to her analysis, Owens’ appeal is no longer confined to traditional conservative activists.
Instead, she appears to be building a cross-platform political celebrity status fueled by podcasts, viral videos, social media influence, anti-establishment messaging, and culture war politics.
The phenomenon gained even more attention recently after Hunter Biden appeared on Owens’ podcast — a crossover moment many viewed as politically surreal.
Longwell described the interview as “the melding of two of the internet’s main characters.”
Owens has spent years building one of the largest conservative online audiences in the country, often positioning herself as a more aggressive and confrontational voice than many elected Republicans.
At the same time, she has repeatedly sparked controversy over inflammatory rhetoric, conspiracy theories, and public feuds with other conservative figures.
Her clashes involving Charlie Kirk and debates surrounding antisemitism allegations have made her both hugely influential and deeply divisive inside right-wing media.
Yet according to Longwell, none of that appears to be hurting Owens with many MAGA-aligned voters.
If anything, it may be strengthening her outsider image.
That growing popularity also reflects a broader transformation happening inside Republican politics — one where celebrity status, internet influence, and cultural warfare increasingly matter as much as traditional governing experience.
In previous generations, future presidential frontrunners typically emerged from governorships, Senate leadership, or military backgrounds.
Now, political commentators with massive online followings are beginning to command the same kind of grassroots enthusiasm once reserved for career politicians.
And if Longwell’s focus groups are any indication, Owens may already be far more politically viable inside MAGA circles than many establishment Republicans realize.
The question now is whether that enthusiasm remains internet fantasy — or the early warning sign of a very real political movement heading toward 2028.