Vice President JD Vance won the straw poll at the annual Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) to be the GOP’s 2028 presidential nominee. However, Secretary of State Marco Rubio appears to be gaining ground on Vance. Vance tallied about 53 percent of the vote out of approximately 1,600 attendees. Rubio finished second at about 35 percent. Nobody else had more than two percent. 2026 CPAC STRAW POLL: GOP PRIMARY JD Vance: 53% (-8) Marco Rubio: 35% (+33) Ron DeSantis: 2% (-5) Trump Jr: 2% Ted Cruz: 1% Pete Hegseth: 1% Rand Paul: 1% Tulsi Gabbard: 1% (+/- shift vs 2025 CPAC Straw Poll) McLaughlin | 3/28/2026 pic.twitter.com/OeZDEArphZ — InteractivePolls (@IAPolls2022) March 29, 2026 Reuters has more: CPAC, ​which is holding this year’s event in Grapevine, Texas, draws heavily from the Republican Party’s conservative wing. Its annual ​straw poll is not necessarily a reliable predictor of the eventual nominee. But the poll offers a ⁠snapshot of where the energy currently lies among core supporters of President Donald Trump’s Make America Great Again movement, also known as ​MAGA. Trump, currently serving his second term, is not eligible to run again in 2028. Paul Empson, a 58-year-old accountant and evangelical Christian ​from Fort Worth, Texas, said he voted for Vance because he sees him as aligned with the MAGA movement and was drawn to the vice president’s frequent references to the Christian faith. “I wasn’t real sure about him at first, you know, like he’s inexperienced, but I’ve seen everything he’s ​done,” Empson told Reuters. “He’s a real, genuine person, and he’s also willing to proclaim his faith in Jesus Christ in public.” According to the outlet, Vance won last year’s CPAC straw poll with 61 percent of the vote. Rubio was a distant fourth place with about three percent. War Room host Steve Bannon tallied around 12 percent, while Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis had about seven percent. The growing comfort with Marco Rubio among conservatives was captured in CPAC’s annual straw poll of potential 2028 contenders. After barely registering in the informal survey last year, 35% of attendees at this year’s event said they wanted him to be the party’s next nominee,… — CNN (@CNN) March 29, 2026 The Hill shared further: Vance has been seen as the heir apparent to Trump since becoming his running mate in 2024, but the president’s recent praise of Rubio’s diplomatic work has introduced fresh speculation over who may carry the party torch once Trump leaves office. “Trump knows this is playing in the backdrop, and he’s struggling with it,” one Republican fundraiser of the debate on who might succeed Trump atop the GOP and MAGA told The Hill. “That’s why he keeps asking people what they’re thinking.” Vance has dismissed the notion that he and Rubio are rivals, telling Fox News host Sean Hannity in November: “I don’t feel like that at all.” “People have asked me, ‘Do you see Marco as a rival?’ And first of all, if either of us end up running, it’s a long ways in the future, and neither of us is entitled to it. So I think it would be ridiculous for me to say Marco is a rival. No, Marco is a colleague,” he said at the time. A month later, Rubio told Vanity Fair he would be “one of the first people to support” Vance if the vice president decided to run for the White House.

Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) revealed in an interview that he’s considering a 2028 presidential bid. “We’re thinking about it. And I would say 50-50,” Paul told “CBS Sunday Morning.” “We’ll make a decision after the election,” he added. Check it out: Is Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) going to run for president? “We’re thinking about it,” he told CBS News’ @costareports, adding, "I would say 50-50." Their interview airs this Sunday. pic.twitter.com/bwDlSkMTxt — CBS Sunday Morning (@CBSSunday) March 27, 2026 More from the New York Post: Paul ran for the GOP presidential nomination in 2016, but dropped out following a fifth place finish in the Iowa caucuses, after receiving just 4.5% of the vote. Since then the senator has butted heads with President Trump on many issues, including his tariff policy, airstrikes on suspected drug boats, the military raid in Venezuela that captured Nicolas Maduro and talk of seizing Greenland. Paul also voted against Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill Act and was the sole GOP no-vote on a measure to end the record-long 43-day government shutdown last fall. Paul also stated during the interview that you can like both President Trump and Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY). The Kentucky Republican said they “represent a lot of the same things.” “But Massie represents an independent spirit that I think you want in your legislator,” Paul said. “You can like President Trump and still support @massieforKY. Thomas stands for a lot of the same principles as the President, but brings an independent spirit we should want in every legislator,” Paul wrote on X. Footage below: You can like President Trump and still support @massieforKY. Thomas stands for a lot of the same principles as the President, but brings an independent spirit we should want in every legislator. pic.twitter.com/sJILgeTnEb — Rand Paul (@RandPaul) March 29, 2026 “The Republican Party needs free-market, pro-trade, anti-war voices. I’ll keep fighting for those principles no matter what,” Paul wrote. The Republican Party needs free-market, pro-trade, anti-war voices. I’ll keep fighting for those principles no matter what. pic.twitter.com/6FqQ4hHcgj — Rand Paul (@RandPaul) March 29, 2026 “I appreciated the conversation with @costareports on @cbssunday. We discussed Iran, DHS funding, tariffs, and my father, @ronpaul. At moments like this, we need steady leadership and a renewed respect for the Constitution,” he added. Watch below: I appreciated the conversation with @costareports on @cbssunday. We discussed Iran, DHS funding, tariffs, and my father, @ronpaul. At moments like this, we need steady leadership and a renewed respect for the Constitution. pic.twitter.com/T6Vvo9Z4aB — Rand Paul (@RandPaul) March 29, 2026 POLITICO noted: Paul has had a complex relationship with his own party and with President Donald Trump, often finding himself the lone Republican on certain issues. More recently, he was the only Republican to support a joint resolution that would limit Trump’s war powers in Iran. His father, former Rep. Ron Paul, also ran for president three times: first as a Libertarian in 1988, and twice as a Republican in 2008 and 2012.

Authorities responded to two separate commercial flights that diverted in the United States on Sunday. A Frontier Airlines flight from Columbus, Ohio, diverted to Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport due to an alleged bomb threat by a passenger. Law enforcement later deemed the threat non-credible. “Frontier Airlines flight operated by an Airbus A320 lands in Atlanta after declaring a possible security threat/hijacking hours ago; aircraft taken to the isolation bay as emergency crews took over,” aviation news page FL360aero stated. Frontier Airlines flight operated by an Airbus A320 lands in Atlanta after declaring a possible security threat/hijacking hours ago; aircraft taken to the isolation bay as emergency crews took over. The flight F92539 from Columbus, Ohio, has landed at Hartsfield-Jackson… pic.twitter.com/roRVvE3ivO — FL360aero (@fl360aero) March 29, 2026 Fox News shared further: As a precaution and in coordination with local authorities, the aircraft was redirected to a remote location where law enforcement responded. Passengers deplaned using airstairs and were bused to the terminal. Authorities later determined the threat was not credible. The FBI and Atlanta Police Department told Fox News the incident remains under investigation, with the FBI taking the lead. Atlanta police initially took the lead, and it is unclear why the FBI took over. “FBI Georgia responded, along with Atlanta Police, this afternoon after a flight from Columbus to Atlanta was disrupted by an unruly passenger. All passengers and crew were taken off the aircraft,” the FBI Atlanta field office said Sunday night. “The FBI can assure the traveling public there is no continuing threat related to this incident. The FBI and Atlanta Police are currently conducting interviews to gather the facts and the FBI will consult with the U.S. Attorney’s Office of the Northern District of Georgia to determine if federal charges will be filed.” Another incident involved an American Airlines flight that was diverted to Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport. The flight was traveling from New York City to Chicago. Law enforcement responded to the aircraft due to a “disruptive customer.” “I can confirm that personnel from the FBI in Michigan are present (March 29, 2026) at DTW Airport, located in Romulus, Michigan, conducting law enforcement activities. There is no current threat to the public at this time,” an FBI Detroit spokesperson reportedly said. An American Airlines flight from New York to Chicago (AA2819) was diverted to Detroit Metro Airport on Sunday, where the plane was isolated. In a statement, an FBI Detroit spokesperson said: “I can confirm that personnel from the FBI in Michigan are present (March 29, 2026) at… pic.twitter.com/cUZGjHTLhv — Metro Detroit News (@metrodetroitn) March 29, 2026 Newsweek has more: The incident occurred amid heightened scrutiny at U.S. airports following the deadly crash at LaGuardia Airport in New York last week and ongoing issues with security wait times for travelers amid a pay stoppage for Transportation Security Administration (TSA) agents amid a partial government shutdown. American Airlines Flight 2819 departed New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport at 8:59 a.m. Eastern and landed at Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport in Romulus at 11:08 a.m., flight-tracking data showed. It was bound for O’Hare International Airport. The FBI and Wayne County Airport Authority Police met the aircraft on the tarmac and isolated it per airport procedure. Once deplaned, passengers waited in the terminal while authorities completed and later cleared a search of the aircraft out of an abundance of caution, officials said.

This is what leadership looks like. Republican Secretary of State Frank LaRose has been deployed with the National Guard. Currently, details regarding LaRose’s deployment have been limited. WCPO reported more on LaRose’s deployment: Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose, a U.S. Army Reservist, has been activated for duty with the Ohio Army National Guard. The 46-year-old told our sister station in Cleveland that he was “doing some work” with his unit but could not provide any additional details. LaRose’s activation comes weeks after three servicemembers from Ohio were killed during a refueling mission in Iraq with the 121st Air Refueling Wing. President Donald Trump and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth were in attendance as the remains of Capt. Seth Koval, 38, of Stoutsville, Capt. Curtis Angst, 30, of Wilmington and Tech. Sgt. Tyler Simmons, 28, from Columbus were received at Dover Air Force Base and returned to their families last week. Ohio Sec. of State Frank LaRose activated with National Guard. What we know https://t.co/DW4n9mEJop — Coshocton Tribune (@coshtribune) March 26, 2026 WLWT reported LaRose is a former Green Beret: According to LaRose’s biography, he has previously served as a U.S. Army Reservist and a Green Beret. Details of LaRose’s deployment haven’t been confirmed, including what capacity he will serve in. LaRose first became Ohio’s secretary of state in 2019 and was re-elected to the position in 2022. A Republican, LaRose ran for the United States Senate in 2024, but lost in the primary election to U.S. Sen. Bernie Moreno. LaRose has been committed as the Secretary of State of Ohio to having clean voter rolls: https://x.com/FrankLaRose/status/1786149961320575205

This was a scary moment considering all that is going on in the Middle East. The U.S. Air Force deployed two F-16 fighter jets to intercept an unresponsive aircraft that was flying in a restricted fly zone in West Palm Beach. Multiple flares were used to alert the aircraft’s pilot, who was initially unresponsive to NORAD’s communications. The New York Post was the first to report on the scare and provided a full report: A security scare at Palm Beach International Airport Sunday prompted the Air Force to scramble F-16 fighter jets and deploy flares — hours before Air Force One was slated to fly President Trump back to DC. Authorities imposed a ground stop at the airport as they rushed to confront the civilian aircraft. The White House said that the security scare took place after authorities lost communication with a general aviation plane. “The civilian aircraft violated the Temporary Flight Restriction (TFR) at approximately 1:15 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time. The aircraft was safely escorted out of the area by NORAD aircraft,” the Defense Visual Information Distribution Service explained in a statement shared by the North American Aerospace Defense Command — which controls the airspace over the US and Canada. “The flares were used to draw attention from or communicate with the pilot. Flares are employed with the highest regard for safety, burn out quickly and completely, and pose no danger to people on the ground.” The White House and Secret Service said that neither Air Force One nor Trump was in danger. “A general aviation aircraft was briefly out of communication with the air traffic control tower at Palm Beach International Airport, but contact was ultimately established and the ground stop was lifted,” a White House official told The Post. Fox News reports: UPDATE: F-16 fighter jets intercepted an unresponsive aircraft in restricted air space around West Palm Beach while President Trump was present The F-16s had to deploy FLARES to get the pilot to respond I’d imagine that pilot needs a new pair of pants pic.twitter.com/zehr4kfHmy https://t.co/ANhWmZZkkH — Nick Sortor (@nicksortor) March 29, 2026 This is a developing story…