Democrats, licking their wounds from their 2024 defeat, are slowly but surely turning their attention to the 2028 race, seeking to turn the page on the era of former President Joe Biden.
Progressives and moderates young and old have filled their calendars with high-profile events to put them in the public’s eyes and ears.
All of them could have hopes to be their party’s next leader. But 2028 is eons away in a political landscape that sees candidates’ fortunes change on a day-to-day and week-to-week basis.
A very early polling average from Race to the White House indicates former Vice President Kamala Harris is voters’ top choice with 27.1% support for the Democratic nomination, with former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg at 16.1% and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) following behind at 12.9%.
Here’s a breakdown of the candidates and what they’re doing to stay relevant.
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez
Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) has generated increasing speculation that she is considering a presidential bid after appearing at several events with former presidential candidate and progressive Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) on his Fighting Oligarchy Tour. The events have drawn thousands of people, with a Los Angeles rally clocking in at 36,000 people strong.
But the 35-year-old is much more likely to succeed in a Senate primary challenge against Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY) in 2026. Schumer is growing more unpopular within his party while Ocasio-Cortez’s star is rising. The New York congresswoman is still very young, so a six-year Senate term, if she finishes it, is unlikely to stall her momentum if she runs and beats Schumer.
An April poll showed Ocasio-Cortez beating Schumer by double digits in a possible primary. She has not said whether she will run for president.
California Gov. Gavin Newsom
Gov. Gavin Newsom’s (D-CA) podcast, started in February, means the California governor is never far from the airwaves. Whether that’s positive or negative is another story, as he drew considerable controversy for hosting MAGA figures like Steve Bannon or Charlie Kirk. He insisted that talking with such figures was necessary to understand the Republican movement.
“I think we all agreed after the last election that it’s important for Democrats to explore new and unique ways of talking to people,” Newsom said.
He’s also dipped his toes into moderating his positions, a common theme for presidential candidates. Newsom told Kirk that he believes transgender athletes competing with women is “deeply unfair,” mirroring Republican rhetoric on the subject.
Newsom hasn’t expressed his intentions on whether he will run in 2028, and his term as California governor will expire in early January 2027.
Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer
Gov. Gretchen Whitmer (D-MI), the governor of a swing state Democrats lost in 2024, associated with President Donald Trump and threw herself back in the public eye with her pursuit of support for an Air National Guard base near Detroit.
In an April 12 unscheduled appearance in the Oval Office, Whitmer found herself in a viral moment as she shielded her face with binders to avoid her picture being taken. It was an apparently embarrassing moment for her, “I kind of wished I hadn’t put my folder up in front of my face, but whatever,” she said later.
Later in April, Whitmer was photographed meeting Trump as he stepped off Air Force One before he spoke at Selfridge Air National Guard Base in Michigan to announce a new series of fighter jets for them. While Trump was speaking, he would invite Whitmer up to say a few words, which she said was unscheduled.
She praised the project without mentioning Trump. The events could represent a fine line Whitmer is toeing between being friendly to Trump in order to get things done without overly associating with him.
Whitmer said in a podcast interview on Thursday that she had to put “service above self.”
“But this is one of those moments where as a public servant, you’re reminded your job is to put service above self, and that’s what it was all about,” she said.
She is term-limited in 2026 and has not expressed her presidential intentions yet.
Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker
The Illinois governor spoke at the New Hampshire Democratic Party’s McIntyre-Shaheen 100 Club Dinner on Sunday, April 27.
In addition to making attacks against Trump, Gov. JB Pritzker (D-IL) railed against his own party members for being “a bunch of know-nothing politico types” who have failed to understand the concerns of “every day Americans.”
“Those same do-nothing Democrats want to blame our losses on our defense of black people, of trans kids, of immigrants, instead of their own lack of guts and gumption,” Pritzker said.
Pritzker did not directly call out any Democrats in his address, but he did criticize Democrats for “flocking to podcasts and cable news shows to admonish fellow Democrats for not caring enough about the struggles of working families.”
Pritzker’s remarks come as Newsom has launched a podcast in which he’s seeking to appeal to more moderate and right conservative voters.
As governor of Illinois, Pritzker is not term limited, but he has still yet to decide if he’d make a third run for governor in 2026.
Former Vice President Kamala Harris
After months of silence following her defeat by Trump in the 2024 presidential election, Harris delivered her first public address at the 20th anniversary gala for Emerge America, an organization that works to help Democratic women for public office.
The gala took place in San Francisco, California, where Harris worked as a district attorney from 2003 to 2011.
In her address, Harris criticized Trump’s first 100 days in office and talked about how the “American dream” has been out for reach for many Americans for decades now.
“Now I recognize that America has never fully lived up to these ideals,” the former vice president said. “That for all the gains we made, the American dream has for decades been slipping out of reach for so many. And the American people deserve leaders who make their lives better and make our country stronger, but sadly, we have seen quite the opposite over these past few months,” Harris added.
Harris is currently said to be weighing a bid for the California governor’s race for 2026.
Former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg
Similar to Newsom, Pete Buttigieg, the former secretary of transportation, has been making his rounds on podcasts, appearing on “The Flagrant” podcast, which Trump appeared on during his presidential campaign.
The podcast, hosted by comedian Andrew Schulz, is popular among young men, and Buttigieg joined in on a nearly three-hour conversation. It was an opportunity for Buttigieg to dive into his personal life as he talked about his time in the Navy and raising adopted twins.
But Buttigieg did not shy away from talking about hot-button issues such as the mass deportations being waged by the Trump administration, Trump’s tariff policy, and he also criticized the wealthy “mega-billionaires.”
The former Transportation Secretary is also scheduled to headline a town hall centered around veterans on May 13 in Iowa.
Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz
The former vice presidential candidate recently spoke at Harvard University in which he discussed that Democrats need to “fundamentally change” in order to see success in 2028.
Gov. Tim Walz (D-MN) talked about how the Democratic Party failed to define itself as the party that “protects rule of law, personal freedom and the things we care about,” which ultimately cost him and Harris the 2024 presidential election.
He said Trump was able to identify with the worries and concerns of the average American.
He correctly identified their pain, and then he said he was going to fight for them, and then he picked the exact worst solution,” Walz said. “The first two things outweighed the results, which is a really stunning thing to think about.”
Maryland Gov. Wes Moore
Gov. Wes Moore (D-MD) insisted in an interview with Politico on May 1 that he is not making a 2028 presidential bid, but all of his recent actions suggest that Moore is seeking to establish a national profile.
“I think that anyone who is, you know, focusing their time and their efforts trying to audition for 2028, to me, what it says is, you’re not taking 2025 very seriously.”
On Sunday, Moore will be giving a commencement speech at Lincoln University, a historically black university in Pennsylvania. At the end of May, Moore will be traveling to South Carolina to give a keynote address for the Democratic state party’s Blue Palmetto Dinner.
He also made an appearance on the View, in which he shared he raged about all the work he’s accomplished in Maryland, as he tees up to run for re-election for his second term in office.
