Who should we run for President in 2028?....

[Unrepentant Fenian]

My vote at this point is Mark Kelly. What do you think?

[multigraincracker]

1. I agree.

Also some up and coming younger men and women are looking good.

[Haggard Celine]

2. My choice right now is Pritzker.

But somebody might come along between now and then who isn't really on the radar now. 2 years is an eternity in American politics. We don't yet know what events will shape our perspective.

[leftstreet]

3. Yes! We haven't tried a billionaire

Seriously. Less chance of him hauling bags of cash out the door.

Plus Pritzker has a certain presence of benevolent certitude

Like, if the Flintstones had a Mob Enforcer

[angrychair]

83. Ok

Yep, let's just give billionaires everything, the WH out businesses, our rights...our lives for the billionaires.

I will never bend the knee to a billionaire.

I will never shy away from the position, no matter the letter after their name, that inherently, nothing personal, just a general rule of thumb, all billionaires are a crime against humanity.

[Melon]

4. I wish mark cuban would step up

[FadedMullet]

29. Wow, did not expect that one. Don't really know much about him. Really rich and kind of abrasive on Sharktank, no?

[Intractable]

56. I use Cuban's Costplusdrugs for my medications.

For most prescriptions, it is cheaper, and some substantially cheaper, than my costs with insurance.

https://www.costplusdrugs.com/

As far as billionaires go, Cuban is one of the few relatively good guys.

[Trueblue Texan]

60. I actually prefer a seasoned politician.

I like Pritzker, Andy Beshear, and Gavin Newsome. Of those, I think Beshear and Pritzker have the best chance of winning.

[allegorical oracle]

74. Watched Jen Psaki's interview of Newsome last night and was pleasantly

surprised at how likeably sharp he seems. He zeroes in on issues quickly and I admire his "moxie".

But I'll vote for the Dem no matter who it is....

[Mosby]

95. I think he's going to run.

Though maybe as an independent.

[Johonny]

5. The winner of the primary

Some "smart" people tried not doing that last time and it didn't workout too good...

[get the red out]

105. Perfect answer

Thank you!

[Dulcinea]

108. I want a Dem who can win.

We need to put this sad, sorry era in our politics behind us FOREVER. MAGA needs to die a quick & painful death.

[Ferrets are Cool]

6. Pete is the best choice....hell we elected a AA as President.

Beshear is a great choice.
Anyone but Newsome.

[maxsolomon]

19. Newsom

no "E".

[Ferrets are Cool]

47. LOL

Thank you

[SomewhereInTheMiddle]

73. No, I like Newsom. It's Newsome that I hate. Different person entirely. nt

[niyad]

7. Can we get through the midterms first, assuming we even have them?

[yellow dahlia]

31. Thank you!

One of the the things I admire about Chris Murphy - for the past year he has been saying the priority is saving Democracy. He is treating the situation like the existential crisis that it is.

[niyad]

45. Exactly!

Even in somewhat normal times, this endlessly-repeated question months before even the midterms, is annoying.

[yellow dahlia]

46. Indeed.

[CTyankee]

107. So we have Newsom and Murphy, West Coast and East Coast.. Perfect.

[Sam I Yam]

51. Good point!

If the GOPhers don't lose in November, we'll know the fix is in.

[thought crime]

79. Can we walk and chew gum?

I suspect many folks spend entire hours watching Netflix. Why not a few fun minutes on a discussion topic?

[niyad]

89. Got it.

[Marie Marie]

8. Rules are for suckers. The Constitution is just a piece of paper. I say we go all in and

run Barrack Hussein Obama again. He'd win in a landslide. And the Republicans would lose their shit every single moment of his term.

[Fiendish Thingy]

11. And when all 50 states refuse to put Obama's name on the ballot, then what?

Why waste time on fantasy when reality is staring us in the face?

[Marie Marie]

14. I was spewing snark. I wasn't seriously suggesting that we ignore the constitution.

That is from the Republican handbook. Guess I should have used the sarcasm thingy.

[LudwigPastorius]

9. "Who should we run for President in 2028?"

With all due respect, that may not matter if we don't win in November.

[yellow dahlia]

32. Exactly.

[thought crime]

77. Or, if the November election is not a fair election

Unless the Revolution is over by 2028...

[Fiendish Thingy]

10. No billionaires or celebrities

Whether we like it or not, the 2028 Dem nominee will almost certainly be a straight white male not named Newsom or Shapiro. (I don’t like that reality, as my hopes were set on Whitmer)

I look forward to seeing who decides to throw their hat in the ring.

Pretty much guaranteed to run:
Kelly
Murphy
Beshear
Newsom
Shapiro
Pritzker

[BannonsLiver]

86. Is it weird being so invested but yet having no say in the outcome whatsoever?

[AZJonnie]

12. I love my Senator, but he lacks the charisma to win the Presidency as a Democrat

Not a bash on the man at all, I just don't think a presidential campaign would be where he'd shine. He's actually a bit of a boring public orator if I'm honest, but he's amazing in all kinds of other ways

VP though? Sure!

I'm still on Team Pete, as I've been for forever.

[SheilaAnn]

13. Adam Schiff. Brilliant and charasmatic guy. n/t

[Trueblue Texan]

62. I don't see any sign of charisma in Schiff...

though I like him and agree he is brilliant. I don't think he can win given the need for Americans to be entertained by their leaders.

[SheilaAnn]

71. I see your point, he's a very serious person. Thanks for the reply.

[WarGamer]

15. MANY should run... the final decision belongs to the PEOPLE.

I want a vigorous Primary...

Iron sharpens Iron.

Mayor Pete, Newsom, Kelly, Harris... bring them on!

[MerryBlooms]

23. Iron shapens iron, as I'm sure you know and why you exerpted, is from Proverbs 27:17

Happy to give credit to the source, in case folks don't know. ✌️

[BannonsLiver]

16. There's going to be a vigorous primary process to determine all of that.

It should be a very interesting cycle on both sides of the aisle. I expect the GOP primary to be a shit show of epic proportions.

[EdmondDantes_]

17. My answer is whoever wins the primaries

My personal current top tier that I would want are Buttigieg, Whitmer, or Bashear.

The former because he's very smart so I believe he would come in with a good plan on how to fix things. The other two because they have won in non-blue states (Michigan being purple lately) and I would hope that appeal would transfer to the larger electorate.

[QueerDuck]

18. Schiff... Buttigieg... but not AOC or Bernie Sanders.

[NoRethugFriends]

59. Hmmm. You can guess the favorite topic forum with almost certainty for some posts.

[QueerDuck]

72. What does this mean? With regard to guessing someones "favorite topic forum" who are you referring to?

[maxsolomon]

20. Mark Kelly looks like Gollum.

American Voters are largely idiots (every "Independent" or "Swing Voter" is), so the most attractive, charismatic candidate wins.

Best bet is Newsom. I know you all hate him, but you're not really representative of the average Dem voter.

[FakeNoose]

30. I don't hate Gavin Newsom ... however I do trust the primary process

If he comes out ahead after all the primary races then I pledge to support our Party's choice.
Gavin isn't my first choice, but I will support him if he's the Party's nominee.

Pete Buttigieg - I believe he's the future of our Party, but I'd like to see him get some legislative experience before he jumps into the fray for President. He's got time on his side.

Mark Kelly has many wonderful attributes, also JB Pritzker, Adam Schiff and Tim Walz. I believe my Governor Josh Shapiro is also eying the 2028 race, but he can wait if need be.

[maxsolomon]

39. I'm a Yellow Dog.

I'll vote for any Dem against any Repuke.

I'd have voted for Blagojevich over Trump.

[BannonsLiver]

84. Best bet is Newsom. I know you all hate him, but you're not really representative of the average Dem voter.

Well said. Needs to be said. Often.

[Nixie]

99. Amen.

[maxsolomon]

97. The bigger the hair, the closer to God.

"High-strung"? Having an extremely nervous or sensitive temperament?

As a high-strung individual, he's never struck me that way...

[maxsolomon]

102. I guess you'd know more than me. I don't live in CA.

""Welcome to DU".

[jmowreader]

21. Sad to say, our candidate needs to meet three tests

Test 1: white
Test 2: cisgender, heterosexual, Christian man
Test 3: not from California, Washington, Illinois, New York or Massachusetts

In the current political climate Barack Obama (fails tests 1 and 3) wouldn't get elected, and he was a fine president.

This means we can't run Gavin Newsom, Bob Ferguson or J.B. Pritzker (from verboten states), Jared Polis (is gay), Abigail Spanberger, Gretchen Whitmer or Maura Healey (all women, and Governor Healey also fails test 3), or Wes Moore (is black).

I'm going to throw out two names who would be really good: Andy Beshear, governor of Kentucky, and Josh Shapiro, governor of Pennsylvania. Both these fine gentlemen understand the working person really well, and Governor Beshear has appeal to Republicans because you sure as hell can't be elected governor of THAT state without being able to win over the substantial GOP presence there. Josh Stein, governor of North Carolina, would also be good. Dr. Josh Green, governor of Hawaii, has a big problem: while he's great, he has a serious track record of pro-vaccination that would piss off a lot of voters and his state has very stringent gun control laws.

YES, we need to run a governor. It used to be the standard entry-level job for the presidency.

[FadedMullet]

28. Which Washington do you mean? I'm assuming you mean D.C. and not my beloved Left Coast WA.

[jmowreader]

35. The one with Seattle in it

The Mayor of DC, Muriel Bowser, definitely can't be elected president in this climate: she's never been married, she's a she, she's definitely not white, liberal as all get out, hates guns, basically everything the MAGAts hate in one person.

But no, Bob Ferguson is definitely unelectable as president.

Funny story: one of my supervisors in Berlin was named Bob Ferguson. And when I heard Bob Ferguson got elected governor of Washington, the first thing I thought was, "is it the same Bob Ferguson?" Turns out it isn't.

[thought crime]

78. The same one with George in it

[jmowreader]

111. I have wondered why there's no Martha, Washington

There's definitely a George, Washington. It's a wide spot in the road at I-90 Exit 149 (in other words, the exact middle of the state according to the freeway exit numbers) with 600 residents and two businesses, both of which are truck stops.

[FakeNoose]

34. Gov. Josh Shapiro is Jewish, so he doesn't meet your #2 test

I believe your criteria are way too narrow and confining.

Instead of saying "no this" and "no that" - how about instead: We figure out how to entice the non-voters and the independents in the country to get excited about our next candidate? If we can do that, we'll more than double our winning margins from the last several elections.

Here's what I know for sure: The Repukes are LOSING voters in droves. And the losses will continue if we get this figured out.

[jmowreader]

37. My criteria are way too narrow and confining for a reason

You can be ANYTHING and get elected president if you're a Republican. I mean, come on: they elected fucking Trump even though he's the very model of the kind of guy they'd like to take out back and shoot. But when you're a Democrat you need to be perfect.

[pinkstarburst]

40. Oops, failed your own test

If we are dismissing great candidates for being gay, looks like we are also dismissing them for not being Christian, so no Shapiro.

I guess we will be having Newsom. Pretty narrow field when you take out all the "can't haves". Also a bit worrisome as many of the ones left other than Newsom don't have any national profile at all. So Beshear, who I've actually heard of, but never heard talk... that could be tough. A bunch of these other names I've never even heard of. That could be a tough sell.

But Newsom's okay.

[tinrobot]

57. Just an arbitrary set of rules.

The candidate who wins is the one who speaks in a way that resonates with the voters. If they can do that, it doesn't matter what state they're from.

Obama did a great job of that. So did Clinton.

[cannabis_flower]

76. I'd like to see

Beshear for President and Kelly or Shapiro for Vice President

[themaguffin]

109. The state that they are from really means little. Unfortunately, the first two points will matter.

[phylny]

22. Let me preface this by saying

Last edited Fri Feb 27, 2026, 11:03 AM - Edit history (1)

I wish Kamala Harris could run and win, I wish Pete Buttigieg could run and win, but I think that unfortunately will not happen.

SO...
Andy Beshear
Mark Kelly
JB Pritzker (I originally misspelled this as a kind DUer pointed out)
Chris Murphy

[FakeNoose]

36. Our next Democratic President needs to appoint Kamala Harris as the new Attorney General

That will bring her back into Washington circles and pave the way for her to eventually run for President. Down the road.

[phylny]

43. She would be the perfect attorney general!

[LudwigPastorius]

90. Jack Smith for Attorney General

He is not a politician. He could restore the Justice Department to its original function as an impartial advocate for the American people, while directing the prosecution of all of the criminal acts of the Trump canal.

[question everything]

68. Pritzker. At least spell his name correctly

[Ping Tung]

24. Amy Klobuchar Senator from Minnesota.

[Intractable]

53. She's overexposed and rather uncharismatic.

She might have appeal to mainstream Democrats, but not beyond.

Did she ever, even once, turn down an interview on CNN or MS-NOW?

Still, if she wants it, I think she should fight for herself in the primary. Good luck!

[question everything]

69. She is now a gubernatorial candidate.

[pinkstarburst]

25. If Pete's running, I'm voting for him

Otherwise, I'll see who I like as we get closer.

[choie]

26. I don't understand why Sheldon Whitestone

is never proffered an option. I think he's wonderful.

[yellow dahlia]

33. He is wonderful. Maybe he isn't interested?

Last edited Fri Feb 27, 2026, 04:59 PM - Edit history (1)

Whitehouse in the White House - catchy.

[pinkstarburst]

41. I've never heard of him. Who is he?

Some of these names in this thread I have never heard of. I know there is the new thinking of "must be a straight christian white male" and I get that, but whoever we get probably needs to be a recognizable national name. If no one has heard of them... that's going to be a problem.

[moonscape]

70. Senator Whitehouse is pretty well-known. For

those who don’t know him, a prominent Senator, the primary would take care of that

[Intractable]

54. If you mean "Sheldon Whitehouse" ...

It would be quite an example of synchronicity to have president named Whitehouse.

[Tribetime]

27. Whoever wins the nomination has my vote

[DET]

38. Someone Who Can Win and Can Govern

It can’t be a woman, a minority, a gay man, or a ‘far left’ Democrat. I hate that, but it’s our reality right now. My personal choice would be Pritzker, but he is a very wealthy man who is significantly overweight. Second choice would be Jamie Raskin, but I don’t know if he wants to run. Both are Jewish; I don’t know if that is considered a dealbreaker anymore. Murphy would be fine.

Not a fan of Beshear; I saw him completely flub a pretty softball interview, and I really do not want a President from one of the most backward states in the country. Nonetheless, he does seem to have crossover appeal, which makes him a viable contender. I like Mark Kelley, but he is not especially charismatic. Nonetheless, his remarkable life of service could appeal to a lot of independents. Please spare us from Newsom, although his recent string of gaffes might disqualify him anyway.

[Ferrets are Cool]

48. That is such wrong thinking. America is tired of "moderate corporate Dems". We need PROGRESSIVE Dems

right now. Just look at who is winning elections atm. Not moderates. Not APAC shills.

[DET]

63. I'm tired of corporate Dems, too

But I don’t think that characterization fits people like Pritzker or Raskin or Walz (who I forgot to mention). I’d love to see someone like Buttigieg win, and I think he probably will some day, but his time is not now. I’d especially love to see a woman win, but I did not fully realize how rampant misogyny is in this country (and I lived through it during my career, especially starting out).

Progressive Democrats have been winning state and local elections recently, but the Presidential election requires appeal to a much more diverse population. It’s the Independents and disappointed Republicans who are potentially persuadable, but they are not going to vote for someone like AOC. If you’re an Independent at this point, then you’re at least open to Republican ideas, which means that you’re either ignorant or stupid or really selfish. The best we can hope for is that these people will potentially vote for a Democratic candidate who is economically progressive (as long as they perceive a personal benefit), but does not focus on ‘scary’ social issues.

[Tree Lady]

42. Pete with AOC as VP

Stop trying to bring in older people because of experience and bring in smart and youth to get the young actually excited about voting again.

Pete may be gay but he actually lives his religion. He's always knows how to calmly figure things out.

They love to tear down AOC but she is very smart also and has matured into her roll.

[krawhitham]

67. This

[pinkstarburst]

100. Love to vote for this ticket!

[BlueTsunami2018]

44. I'd like to be as left as they are right.

Kelly is hardly that person. He’s as milqutoast status quo as they come. We don’t need a right light candidate.

I don’t expect an actual left candidate. That would be a bridge too far for the capitalist owners and Americans are too indoctrinated into this “capitalism is great” nonsense to consider it. But goddamnit ENOUGH with the “tacking to the center” bullshit. Because they’re never tacking to the center, they’re shifting the Overton Window further to the right. We need to go left (in the American sense, as weak as that may be) and go fucking hard. I’m sick of trying to capture the “disaffected Republicans” who barely exist and go for the huge block of people on the left who want to vote for someone who actually pays attention to them instead of constantly blowing them off and pissing on them. No more campaigning with the fucking Liz Cheneys of the world and no more supporting or ignoring genocide, among other things that should be obvious.

We cannot be running on “getting back to normal” because normal has sucked for the working class since dickhead Reagan’s puppet masters turned the whole country upside down.

Does that person exist? Could that person even get on the ballot in this corporate controlled environment?

I don’t know but we have to try.

We have to fucking try. Because otherwise, what’s the point?

[hamsterjill]

49. I want a clean, point-driven and vigorous primary season.

I want to hear ideas; not personal insults.

I want to hear strength; not just bravado.

I want to hear resolve; not just empty promises.

I want to hear creativity; not just the same old, stale ideas.

And I want to hear what each candidate will offer in order to take this country back to safety and security for those living in it, and what they will do in order to keep something like Trump from happening again. I want my rights to be the same in every state just as a man's rights are. I want law and order and justice restored. I want someone who not only wants to be President, but understands that being President means they work 24/7 for the people. I want someone who will make me proud to be an American again.

Then...I'll make a decision as to who to vote for.

[Intractable]

50. Whoever wins the primary, of course.

Unless Mark Kelly is an actual progressive, and I think he isn't, I would only vote for him against the Republican.

But, why should we even think about this now? We have to deal with 2026 elections.

[NoRethugFriends]

61. He isn't. His wife wasn't either.

[Intractable]

65. Yeah. So, they are not on the map for me. If he runs in the primary, I'll give him a chance.

Up until a few years ago, I didn't know he had a twin brother.

In one on-TV scene, the two brothers were shown next to each other. I said, "Oh my. There's two of him!"

[Tribetime]

52. Jessy Ventura

[SSJVegeta]

55. AOC and Talarico

Kelly would make an incredible Secretary of State, though

[NoRethugFriends]

58. Nope nope nope. How about a real liberal

[womanofthehills]

64. Many on X are loving Ro Khanna

He’s out there big time on the Epstein files, human rights violations in West Bank, speaking out big time of Trump’s desire for war in Iran, etc

Lately - more and more Dems on X saying he would make a great president.

[BannonsLiver]

87. Those are Russian bots.

Nobody IRL is saying that.

[artemisia1]

66. No, he's SecDef material. We also, imho, need someone who is a veteran of at least one Primary so that they

are experienced for the gutterfight of the GE.

[LetMyPeopleVote]

96. Welcome to DU

[Gore1FL]

81. Let's wait until 2028 to figure that out.

Was Kelly your choice 6 months ago?

[angrychair]

82. I am and will always be

A ride or die with Kamala Harris. I truly think she would win.

My second choice would be AOC.

My third choice would be Pete Buttigieg

That's who I want. I realize our party is very centerist and will likely pick a more conservative leaning Democrat like Kelly or Newsom.
I don't like it but I'll absolutely vote for them if they end up our candidate.

[TBF]

85. I think we should be worrying about elections THIS year.

I don't want to hear "we can do more than one thing at a time" - I want to know what you're doing to elect democrats right now. Who is running where you live? When did you vote? Are you assisting the campaign in any way (even just donations?). Tell us which candidates you're excited about.

If you don't want to do that, how about Georgia? Let's talk about what Trump is doing THIS WEEK to keep us from having mid-term elections. Yes, those stories came out yesterday and it's a problem.

eta to add recent story from msm actually covering this:
https://abcnews.com/US/pro-trump-attorneys-push-executive-order-give-trump/story?id=130539044

[Alliepoo]

88. I like

Pritzker/Beshear!

[flamingdem]

91. Newsom. He's got the chops. See Jen Psaki's interview on

MSNOW. He's our guy and the Olympics will be in California.

Nice tie-in to create a golden glow Americana that will make couch-boy look like an eyelined hick.

[Mosby]

94. Shapiro/Whitmer

Locks up PA and MI.

Don't really care who leads the ticket, but I don't think swing voters will vote for a woman for president.

[TheProle]

101. The winner of a cleanly-run primary

[thought crime]

103. Kamala Harris: Harris-Crockett ticket. Lets give them something to talk about!

Democrats should be Bold in the next cycle, when voters are weary of Trump and Fascism. It's time to do the Right Thing. Kamala was a nearly perfect candidate in 2024. She demolished Trump in debate and waged a ferocious and energetic campaign. I hope she runs again, because I'm pretty sure she has learned a thing or two and will offer an interesting perspective.

Doubling down with two very strong, smart female candidates will show voters that Democrats are not fearful or timid, and are fully committed to the best candidates out there. A Harris-Crockett ticket would be running on high-octane fuel.

I'd like to have AOC as president more than anything, but I think she is aiming for a spell in the Senate. I know Jasmine Crockett is running for Senate, too, but I think she might be persuaded.

[Wednesdays]

104. It's way too early for this question.

We don't even know who for sure to choose from yet.

[anamnua]

106. Gavin Handsome. NT.

[themaguffin]

110. One who openly reverses all of this. has a DOJ who will prosecute, will erase the renamings etc etc etc.