Who Is The Democrats' Secret Weapon in 2028?
Edited by Morgan Pustilnik, Jordan Collinson, Owen Andrews, and Sarah Ahmad
The Democratic Party is still reeling from Kamala Harris’ loss in the 2024 presidential election to Donald Trump. With many different candidates soft-launching their presidential ambitions, it's unclear what direction the Democrats are going to go in 2028, but I plan to clear the air on what their next steps should be. I’ve compiled a list of 9 of the currently highest polling Democratic candidates who may be strong contenders in 2028 and have decided to rank them based on a few factors, including their previous experience, age, home state advantage, personal background, name ID (recognizability), and general communication ability. With all of those factors considered, I’ve identified the candidate who has the best chance of reclaiming the White House from the GOP in 2028.
#9: J.B. Pritzker
Age: 60
Recent Experience: Governor of Illinois (2019-Present)
Floated as a possible VP pick for Kamala Harris, Governor Pritzker ranks last on my list of the top 9 contenders for a few reasons. Firstly, his home state of Illinois offers very little electoral advantage, having been a democratic stronghold for decades. He may be able to utilize Illinois for a regional advantage in the broader “Rust Belt,” but that’s as far as it goes. Additionally, Pritzker has been losing favorability in Illinois, making him a controversial choice even in his home state. The biggest issue, however, is the fact that Pritzker is a billionaire and was raised a billionaire. As issues of wealth inequality become more resonant with the American public as figures like Elon Musk have more public control over government, the label of “billionaire” has become increasingly unpopular and controversial, especially among the Democratic Party base. With this inescapable aspect of his background, Pritzker would have incredible difficulty uniting even his own party.
#8: Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez
Age: 35
Recent Experience: U.S. Representative for New York’s 14th District (2019-Present)
Representative Ocasio-Cortez, or AOC, ranks fairly low overall as well. While she is a very engaging speaker and has a very strong following from the younger, progressive wing of the Democrats, she has a very skewed general appeal. Because of her strong willingness to criticize the Democratic Party establishment and upper class, she may struggle to unite the base in an opposite fashion to Pritzker. Much like Pritzker, she too offers little electoral advantage, being from New York, which already has a strong Democratic electoral presence. Furthermore, AOC will only be 38 by the time of the election in 2028, and while there is an appetite for younger presidential candidates, her being much younger than the norm could be a bit of a concern for some voters.
#7: Kamala Harris
Age: 60
Recent Experience: Vice President (2021-2025)
In most Democratic primary polls where Harris is included, unsurprisingly, she polls near the top. Having the best name ID out of any potential Democratic candidate will make her campaign easier to start out with, but she carries too much baggage from the Biden administration to be viable. The fact that she couldn’t overcome her Biden ties in 2024 makes me apprehensive about giving her a strong advantage. She has a strong presence while speaking and is an electric campaigner but doesn’t have a positive enough image to outweigh her connections to the unpopular Biden administration. Along with the perception of poor messaging she experienced last campaign cycle, Harris has too much on the hook being the second in command to Biden’s unpopular administration.
#6: Tim Walz
Age: 61
Recent Experience: Governor of Minnesota (2019-Present)
Tim Walz is a tough candidate to rank on this list. While he is tied to the recent campaign of Kamala Harris as her chosen running mate, he was not an actual member of the Biden administration like Harris was. Walz branded himself with a very down-to-earth, simplistic personality to fight against the stigma of the Harris campaign being out of touch with constituents. Overall, his strategy seemed to make a negligible difference in the campaign, and he certainly wasn’t a major focus of the race. While Walz may have a strength in reaching working-class voters in his home state of Minnesota, his weaknesses as a debater may make that strength hard to translate to a national environment.
#5: Gavin Newsom
Age: 57
Recent Experience: Governor of California (2019-Present)
Besides Kamala Harris, the highest polling Democrat is currently Gavin Newsom. So far, Newsom has been one of the most publicly resistant governors towards the Trump administration and is known for emulating Trump in posts on social media. Newsom is one of the most recognizable governors of the country, which already gives him a strong electoral advantage as far as his national profile goes. The problem, however, is that he is incredibly controversial. Newsom has a favorability rating of around -10%, according to Newsweek, with particular controversy surrounding his handling of homelessness in major cities in his state. Along with a perceived decline in many of California’s urban centers like San Francisco and Los Angeles, Gavin Newsom has too much criticism of his administration from the median voter to be viable in 2028.
#4: Cory Booker
Age: 56
Recent Experience: U.S. Senator from New Jersey (2013-Present)
Cory Booker first gained national prominence when he ran for the Democratic nomination back in 2020. He recently gained a massive shot of national attention when he broke the record for longest filibuster earlier this year at over 24 consecutive hours on the Senate floor. Booker could easily utilize his perception as a perseverant speaker on the campaign trail, a branding that tends to play over quite well with the public. He would, however, not provide much electorally, being from New Jersey. Additionally, Booker doesn’t necessarily have strong ties to the more progressive wing of the party, particularly when it comes to his support of Israel. Also, having an identity rooted in a deeply unpopular Congress may not be palatable to the general populace, making his record somewhat easy to scrutinize for people dissatisfied with Washington.
#3: Josh Shapiro
Age: 51
Recent Experience: Governor of Pennsylvania (2023-Present)
Josh Shapiro was another potential running mate for Kamala Harris in 2024, particularly floated for his connection to the vital swing state of Pennsylvania. Because Shapiro leads a relatively popular administration in his home state, he would likely have a strong chance to carry it, making a major difference electorally. Additionally, Shapiro is a very strong speaker and debater and could definitely run a very energizing campaign compared to many other possible candidates. His major issues, however, come from some of his outlier stances. Of most major Democratic candidates, Shapiro is the most outspokenly pro-Israel of the bunch, meaning the further left factions of the party would likely be hard to convince from the outset.
#2: Pete Buttigieg
Age: 43
Recent Experience: U.S. Secretary of Transportation (2021-2025), Mayor of South Bend, Indiana.
Pete Buttigieg shocked the political world in 2020 by performing incredibly well in the Democratic primaries with strong performances in both the Iowa Caucus and New Hampshire Primary. Buttigieg, since then, has been able to keep up a fairly strong national profile and remains one of the most popular national figures in the Democratic Party. While not necessarily an explosive speaker in the same vein as Shapiro or Booker, Buttigieg aims to be very down-to-earth in his approach but with a bit more poise in debates than someone like Tim Walz. Buttigieg’s personal background could act to his benefit as well. Being the first publicly LGBTQ+ candidate could make waves in uniting the party, while possibly being a liability with more socially conservative rural voters. However, his time serving in the military could be a strong appeal to those same conservative voters.
#1: Andy Beshear
Age: 47
Recent Experience: Governor of Kentucky (2019-Present)
Finally, the best candidate that the Democrats can nominate in 2028 is Andy Beshear. Being from a very red state, Beshear has had to learn how to communicate with the same voters who have been consistently voting for Trump at the national level, meaning he could have a better chance to swing a large portion of those voters back. Additionally, with a long career in exclusively state-level politics, Beshear threads the needle of being experienced but not tied to the perceived dysfunction in Washington. He has one of the highest approval ratings in the country of any governor at around 68% and has still been able to promote progressive initiatives such as the successful referendum to protect abortion throughout the state. All in all, Beshear is someone who can reach across the aisle in many effective ways and lacks much of the baggage that other candidates may possess.
In 1992, the race for the Democratic nomination for President was relatively chaotic, with very few high-level Democrats willing to challenge President George H. Bush. After emerging out of nowhere on the national scene, former Arkansas Governor Bill Clinton narrowly secured the nomination. Along with a “well” timed recession and a third-party challenge to Bush, Clinton was able to take advantage of his most vital resource: his humility. He portrayed himself as a man who came from modest upbringing in a small rural state, and one who truly understood the needs of his constituents without having to talk down to them. Clinton won the 1992 election by a wide margin, and can easily be compared to Beshear in many of the ways just described.
The race for the presidency in 2028 is still quite far away, and the Democrats are more immediately focused on the upcoming midterm elections next year. That being said, to have the best chance at winning in 2028, unity is incredibly important to make the Democrats seem strong and coherent.With many recent candidates, such as Zohran Mamdani in New York or Graham Platner in Maine, seeing success by taking a level-headed approach in communicating to working-class voters, Beshear’s strength in this area would be vital on a national level. If unity is what the Democrats want, they should consider the communicative, experienced, outsider approach of Andy Beshear.