A Students for Life Action (SFLAction) straw poll conducted among pro-life youth found Vice President JD Vance to be the most popular Republican candidate for the 2028 presidential election, while the same group projected California Gov. Gavin Newsom as the Democratic pick.
SFLAction also found more than half of respondents said a politician’s stance on abortion is most important to them when casting their vote, and more than three in 10 say abortion is among their top two voting priorities.
SFLAction President Kristan Hawkins pointed to the poll as indication that pro-life voters are already willing to back candidates. Admiral Brian Christine, the assistant secretary for health at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, is looking ahead to the November midterm elections as opportunities for pro-life young voters to build a culture of life in America.
An unofficial poll conducted this past weekend among attendees at the 2026 National Pro-Life Summit found that pro-life voters picked Vice President JD Vance for the Republican presidential candidate in 2028 and slated California Gov. Gavin Newsom as the Democratic candidate.
Students for Life Action (SFLAction), the organization that hosted the summit, stated in a press release that the straw poll results also showed support for Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, and U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson as potential Republican presidential candidates. For Democratic candidates, attendees named former Vice President Kamala Harris, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear, among other politicians and lawmakers.
SFLAction stated that it asked young voters whether a politician’s stance on abortion mattered to them when casting their vote. More than half said it was most important for their vote, and more than three in 10 said they considered it one of two important factors when voting.
In the release, SFLAction President Kristan Hawkins said the poll demonstrated that pro-life voters are already thinking seriously about the country’s leadership in the coming years.
“Legislators take note: the campaign season has begun,” she stated.
According to the release, the summit brought together youth vote leaders from across the country to discuss plans for the future of the fight for life. Attendees heard from lawmakers, government officials, and well-known pro-life advocates, who urged the young voters to work together to bring an end to the culture of abortion in America.
Admiral Brian Christine, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ assistant secretary for health, told the youth in a speech, “The leaders that we choose, the policies we support, the voices we elevate, the votes that we cast this November, all of it will determine whether we can continue building a culture of Life, or whether we will see a regression to the failed policies of the past.”