For two days now, a Manhattan gathering has doubled as perhaps the first cattle call of the 2028 Democratic presidential primary. The convention, hosted by the National Action Network — a major civil rights organization — drew Black leaders, activists and roughly a half-dozen potential Democratic presidential contenders, with more traipsing through tomorrow.
The event left me wondering: Who would begin the next presidential campaign with a decisive advantage among Black leaders and voters, perhaps the most crucial constituency in Democratic primaries?
I know, I know. It is impossible to predict tomorrow’s political upheavals, much less to speak with confidence about what the world will look like two years from now.
But it’s an important question.
Joe Biden began the 2020 presidential cycle with deep relationships among Black leaders and voters, especially in the traditionally early-voting primary state of South Carolina, where Black voters are particularly influential. Both he and, in 2016, Hillary Clinton, effectively highlighted their relationships with the nation’s first Black president, Barack Obama. And in the earliest stages of the 2008 presidential race, Clinton and Obama both claimed strong ties to Black leaders. In all of those primary contests, Black voters proved pivotal.
Is there anyone who would begin the 2028 race with similar stature?
“I don’t see, as of today, who among the potential candidates has a vast array of strong relationships within the Black community, let alone in the South Carolina community,” Clay Middleton, a Democratic National Committee member from South Carolina, told me. “People want to keep their options open.”
Of course, some may have a head start.
At the top of that list would be former Vice President Kamala Harris, the first Black woman to win a major party’s presidential nomination, who said on Friday that she was “thinking about” running again. The Rev. Al Sharpton, who founded the National Action Network and interviewed Harris onstage, told my colleague Tim Balk that it was “fair” to say Harris would begin the race as the first choice among the crowd at the convention.
But after losing in 2024 and dropping out of the 2020 primary before any contests took place, she would face many challenges if she ran again, starting with questions about her political viability.
Senator Cory Booker of New Jersey, a Black man who has run before, has yearslong relationships with key leaders, while Gov. Wes Moore, Maryland’s first Black governor, is building them, South Carolina Democrats told me. A number of governors who are white are popular among Black voters in their states, and that could help them connect nationally.
Harris “probably has received more African American votes than any of the people who are talking about running, so she has that built in,” Representative James Clyburn, the prominent South Carolina lawmaker, said. “You can’t dismiss that. And I just think that there are others who may not have come to the surface yet.”
Clyburn — like several of the speakers at the convention this week — suggested that it was absurd to talk about 2028 before getting through the midterm elections. He said that “the Black community is not zeroing in on presidential politics because they’re so concerned about whether or not we’re going to have fair elections this year.”
But in a sign that he, too, is keeping his options open, he later said of the potential 2028 candidates, “I consider all of them to be friends.”
“In my business,” he added, “you’ve got to have more than one friend.”
One Number
3.3 percent
That’s how much the Consumer Price Index jumped in the year through March, a two-year high, reflecting higher costs for energy and goods affected by disruptions in the Middle East.
The price of staples like peanut butter jumped from last month, and there are signs that U.S. manufactured goods will continue to get more expensive.
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Trump has choice words for his critics
Is no one safe from a blistering social media rant from President Trump?
In a 482-word Truth Social post on Thursday, the president hurled insults at several prominent right-wing figures. On the receiving end were four podcasters, including Megyn Kelly and Tucker Carlson, who oppose the war in Iran, as well as Marjorie Taylor Greene, the former Georgia congresswoman who turned on Trump in his second term. My colleague Tim Balk has more.
QUOTE OF THE DAY
“I know what the job is, and I know what it requires.”
That wasformer Vice President Kamala Harris at a New York City gathering of the National Action Network on Friday. She acknowledged that she was “thinking about” seeking the presidency again in 2028.
ONE LAST THING
Democrats have a new favorite four-letter word
Online. On the stump. In ads and press statements.
Democratic politicians are increasingly embracing coarse language, and an analysis of social media posts by my colleagues Kellen Browning and Matt Zdun found that they use the F-word far more often than their Republican colleagues.
Leading the pack as the party’s top swearer, with at least 77 X posts featuring the word from 2020 through the end of March 2026, was Senator Ruben Gallego of Arizona.
Ama Sarpomaa contributed reporting.
Katie Glueck is a Times national political reporter.
The post Democrats’ Fight for Black Support in 2028 Is Starting. It’s Wide Open. appeared first on New York Times.
