California Governor Gavin Newsom. Photo / Getty Images
No one has declared their candidacy yet, but the unofficial 2028 Democratic presidential field is taking shape - and it’s sprawling.
The possibilities include former presidential candidates, governors, senators, House members and people who don’t hold elected office.
Fifty-eight per cent of Democrats said in a recent YouGov poll that it’s more important to nominate someone who can win rather than someone who agrees with their positions. With that in mind, here’s who is rising to the top of the list among Democratic insiders.
Gavin Newsom: In a September YouGov survey, Democratic-leaning voters said they’re most likely to consider voting for the California Governor. California is often the foil when there’s a Republican in the White House, and Newsom hasn’t shied away from that role.
He has sued President Donald Trump for sending the National Guard to Los Angeles and led a successful push to redraw California’s congressional map to counter redistricting in red states. He also has a popular podcast and is gaining attention for giving Trump some of his own medicine on social media by mocking him.
Josh Shapiro: The popular Pennsylvania Governor was a top contender to be Kamala Harris’ vice-presidential pick. He comes from a swing state - maybe the most important one - and although he champions many liberal causes, Shapiro has been unafraid to criticise the most liberal wing of the party, especially on issues relating to Israel (he’s Jewish). That’s an asset for some national Democrats who see the centre as their path back to relevancy.
Gretchen Whitmer: The two-term governor of Michigan, another swing state, is travelling the country ahead of next year’s congressional elections. “There are areas in my state that are very red on a political map that many Democrats wouldn’t bother showing up at. I do,” she told the Miami Herald about why she’s spending time campaigning in Florida, a state that voted for Trump three times.
There are plenty of Democratic candidates who could run for president and have a real chance at winning.
Kamala Harris: “I am not done,” she said recently. Harris isn’t far behind Newsom as a candidate voters would consider in 2028, YouGov found. But her recent book about her shot-out-of-a-cannon presidential campaign last year, after President Joe Biden dropped out of the race, irked some in the party for appearing to blame many others for letting Biden decide if, at age 80, he should run again.
Pete Buttigieg: Biden’s Transportation Secretary - who ran for president in 2020 - is also a candidate whom Democratic-leaning voters say they’d consider, according to YouGov. One senior Democratic strategist who has worked on presidential campaigns and spoke on the condition of anonymity to be candid said Buttigieg is the best messenger in the party but questioned whether voters are ready to elect a gay president.
Andy Beshear: Kentucky’s Democratic Governor talks often about how he has won in a state that voted for Trump three times. “For some of the right reasons, advocacy speak has snuck into our language,” he has said. “And it snuck in in a way to where it sounds like we’re talking down to people, that we’re talking at people and not to them.”
JB Pritzker: The Illinois Governor, like Newsom in California, appears eager for a fight with Trump, calling the President’s attempted National Guard deployment to Chicago an “invasion”. Pritzker is a billionaire, and his wealth could prove to be a boon and a challenge in a presidential campaign; his gambling made national news when he reported winning more than US$1 million in Las Vegas.
Wes Moore: The first-term Maryland Governor, the only black governor of a US state, preaches a brand of optimism with realism to fight Trumpism: “It’s easy to rail against a country when you’re unwilling to be a part of its betterment,” he has said.
The early Democratic field is so wide open that it’s hard to count many people out.
Rahm Emanuel: The former Chicago Mayor is getting buzz among insiders as someone who has experienced a successful presidential campaign (he was President Barack Obama’s chief of staff) and knows how to speak directly to voters. “I don’t just fight for the sport of fight,” he recently told the Atlantic.
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez: The 36-year-old member of Congress is one of the best-known liberal leaders of the party. It’s orthodoxy in Democratic circles that she has her sights set on higher office, and running for the Senate in New York is a possibility. If she ran for president, she’d have to win over voters wary of their party being cast as too “woke”, but her star power could instantly change the race.
Chris Murphy: The Senator from Connecticut has taken it upon himself to call out what he and many legal experts say is creeping authoritarianism under Trump. “I’m gonna be everywhere that there are ears and eyes because I worry that we are sleepwalking into autocracy,” he told the Washington Post last month.
Cory Booker: In April, as most Democrats were still reeling from Trump’s return to the White House, the Senator from New Jersey (and 2020 presidential candidate) broke the record for the longest Senate floor speech in the modern era, at 25 hours, jolting some in the Democratic base back into action. “The threats to American people and American democracy are grave and urgent, and we all must do more,” he said.
Also keep an eye on: Representative Ro Khanna (D-California) is a House member who is trying to get his party to talk almost exclusively about how to improve life for the working class. “I call it ‘economic patriotism,’” he has said.
There aren’t many celebrities getting political buzz yet, except for ESPN commentator Stephen Smith. He’s no fan of Trump, but he pitches himself as straight down the middle, saying on his popular podcast: “I hit everyone. I don’t pull punches for liberals or conservatives.”
And Democrats I’ve talked to say to leave room for surprise candidates. “There may be someone running we’ve never thought of,” the senior national Democratic strategist said.
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