It is still very early. While no candidate has officially launched a campaign for the November 2028 election, early maneuvering is already underway among Democrats. From Gavin Newsom and Mark Kelly to AOC and Kamala Harris, and a few others, Democrats are beginning to lay the groundwork for possible 2028 presidential bids.
Their primary will likely become clearer after the November 2026 midterm elections.
The Democrats in play range mostly from left-wing to extreme left-wing, though the legacy media will refer to the less left-wing candidates as “moderate.” Regardless, the lack of a clear front-runner to succeed Republican President Trump signals a wide-open Democrat primary race.
Governors like Newsom (Calif.), JD Pritzker (Ill.), Andy Beshear (Ky.), and Josh Shapiro (Pa.), senators, such as Kelly (Ariz.), and representatives such as Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (N.Y.), and former presidential candidates Harris and Pete Buttigieg, have begun visiting key early-voting states, building donor networks, and releasing books.
These are all familiar moves for politicians preparing for a White House bid against the eventual Republican nominee to replace Trump. Only a few of these have what it takes to win the far-left Democrat primary, and those who do will probably be too far left to win the general election.
Let’s break them down a bit from most talked about to least.
Gavin Newsom: Sometimes seen as the closest to a possible front-runner. Strengths: Governor of a huge state. Newsom has built a national profile through his sharp trolling of Trump.
Weaknesses: He has run his state into the ground. California has some of the highest gasoline prices, taxes, crime, and homeless rates in the U.S. If he runs, Republicans will put him on defense very quickly. He is also seen as a pretty boy poseur, not a doer.
Kamala Harris: The former DEI vice president has been the most explicit about running again after losing to Trump in 2024. “I am thinking about it,” she said in April.
Strengths: Harris has high name recognition and is polling well among Democrat voters in early 2028 surveys.
Weaknesses: Herself. She is still the same ill-informed, cackling, word salad-spewing DEI candidate loser she was before.
Her ties to Joe Biden may also be an issue as some Democrats have blamed his delayed exit from the 2024 race for the party’s defeat. If Harris runs again, it would be her third presidential bid; a fourth time usually isn’t the charm.
Mark Kelly: Kelly, a former astronaut and Navy pilot, has gained fame (or infamy) with his fight with War Secretary Pete Hegseth over his “Seditious Six” video urging active-duty troops to refuse undefined Trump “illegal orders.”
Strengths: Long military service. He has also been elected to office in Arizona, a presidential swing state. For lefty Democrats, he has credibility on gun control as the husband of former Representative Gabby Giffords, who survived a shooting in 2011. He also has a large war chest — over $22 million.
Weaknesses: Kelly is an old white dude, and despite his moves to the left, may still not be left-wing enough for a far left-wing Democrat primary.
JB Pritzker: The large, loud-mouthed Illinois governor said in April he was focused on his 2026 gubernatorial reelection campaign, but added, “I’m gonna be more involved than ever before in 2028 because we can’t lose.”
Strengths: Pritzker has gained a national profile by criticizing Trump’s deployment of National Guard troops and federal immigration agents to U.S. cities. An heir to the Hyatt hotel fortune, Pritzker is a billionaire, giving him the resources others may not have.
Weaknesses: A billionaire through inheritance is easily cast as out of touch with voters facing economic hardship, especially in a party that supposedly hates billionaires.
And then there’s my favorite, the far-left loony tune, socialist Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (AOC), a former bartender and self-described Bronx girl who actually grew up as “Sandy Ocasio” in suburban Westchester, New York.
Despite her lack of experience, and intelligence, she has not ruled out running. “My ambition is to change this country,” she has said.
Strengths: She is highly popular with many young and left-wing Democrat voters and draws enthusiastic crowds.
Weaknesses: She is a radical ideologue who is likely to implode on a national stage.
Josh Shapiro, the Jewish pro-Israel PA governor might make a run.
Strengths: He has $36 million available for his gubernatorial reelection campaign.
Weaknesses: His relatively pro-Israeli stance might alienate Democrat primary voters before 2028.
Andy Beshear is the chair of the Democratic Governors Association this year, giving him a platform to promote his record in a heavily Republican state.
Strengths: He has been elected twice in a state Trump won by over 30 points in 2024.
Weaknesses: Not well known outside Kentucky, and his more bipartisan approach to politics isn’t a selling point for Democrat primary voters.
And finally, Pete Buttigieg, unsuccessful in his 2020 bid to become the Democrat nominee, is also a wannabe contender.
Strengths: A former McKinsey management consultant, he is seen as a sharp debater able to criticize Republicans effectively.
Weaknesses: He is a former McKinsey consultant. During his 2020 presidential campaign, he also struggled to gain support among Black voters. Critics additionally pointed to his limited executive experience, having served only as mayor of South Bend, Indiana, before becoming Biden’s lackluster Transportation Secretary.
Finally, some see “moderate” Rahm Emanuel as a potential dark horse candidate. Emanuel served as a U.S. representative, White House chief of staff to Barack Obama, mayor of Chicago, and U.S. ambassador to Japan. Last year, he said he was considering a run and has since pushed to revive the party’s moderate wing.
While he is roughly at 1% among likely Democratic primary voters now, this can be misleading early on. Trump had about 1% support among GOP primary voters when he launched his 2016 bid, and Bill Clinton polled below 1% in early surveys before winning in 1992.
There are others too. Ro Khanna, a far left-wing U.S. representative from California, said in March he will decide after November. Meanwhile, Arizona senator (and best friend of disgraced representative Eric Swalwell), Ruben Gallego, and New Jersey Senator Cory Booker, who says Democrats need new leadership and visions, may also make runs. It is still very early, and much can change.
The opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the positions of American Liberty News.
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What I have against all of Paul Crespo’s suggested Democratic Presidential candidates is, they all want to change the greatest country in the world. Do some research and look at what they have accomplished for example, Newsom he along with his democratic friends destroyed California and it goes on and on with the rest of them.