2028 presidential election candidates Democrats commence shadow the primary
As the Democratic reboot continues, White House hopefuls such as Harris are tiptoeing into an earlier than usual shadow campaign that political observers say they believe will be among the party’s most consequential presidential primaries in decades.
If Harris does enter the fray for a third try at the presidency it will certainly stir the 2028 pot. When Kamala Harris was asked point blank if the reason she passed on running for California governor was because she is seeking a different office, the former Democratic vice president said she doesn’t “want to go back in the system” just yet.
“I want to travel the country, I want to listen to people, I want to talk with people and I don’t want it to be transactional, where I’m asking for their vote,” Harris said during a July 31 on “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert”, her first interview since stiff arming the 2026 election to lead her native Golden State.
“That’s leaving more than the door ajar, that’s pushing the door wide open,” Michael Feldman, a former senior adviser to Vice President Al Gore, told USA TODAY. “I understand the optionality that creates for her: she shut a door, she’s opening another. And by the way, nobody wants to foreclose their options and their opportunity.”
If Harris does enter the fray for a third try at the presidency it will certainly stir the 2028 pot.
She brings the highest name ID of any suspected contender and an even broader donor network with established relationships to boot. But campaign experts and strategists warn that no one should expect a red carpet to the nomination this time around.
“There will be a contested primary,” Feldman said. “There will be a large field of people who feel like it’s their time and it’s their moment.”
While voting won’t commence in the next White House race for 17 more months, that’s not stopping a number of sitting governors, senators and other aspiring future Democratic presidents to be making pilgrimages to early voting states.
They’re also penning memoirs, doing marathon podcast interviews, squirreling away campaign cash and outlining their stances on topics that will be relevant to the progressive base, moderates and eventually independent voters down the line.
