The midterm races are kicking into their highest gear — and so are the politicians who want to run for president in 2028.
An array of potential Democratic and Republican presidential contenders are hitting the campaign trail in the final weeks before Election Day to stump for their parties’ House, Senate and governor nominees.
No prominent political figures from either party have formally declared an intention to run, but several would-be contenders have said publicly they are weighing 2028 presidential bids, including former 2024 presidential nominee Kamala Harris and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (New York) among the Democrats.
Vice President JD Vance is widely seen as the presumed front-runner in the Republican field. The expectation that Vance will run hasn’t stopped some other Republicans, such as Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) and Sen. John Kennedy (R-Louisiana), from floating the possibility of entering the fray.
If history is any guide, candidates will probably launch their campaigns sometime in the first half of 2027. Some announcements could come sooner, given the massive amount of organization and fundraising involved in mounting presidential campaigns.
The Democratic Party’s shake-up of its calendar for early-state primaries has added to the intrigue as potential 2028 hopefuls fan out across the country to boost midterm candidates.
Pitching in to help midterm candidates can help potential White House contenders deepen their support within the party and build fundraising infrastructure.
Ocasio-Cortez is going all-in to help Democrat Abdul El-Sayed in his U.S. Senate bid in Michigan. That could bolster her chances in a Democratic primary. Michigan is among six states on the Democrats’ new roster of early-primary contests.
Iowa has drawn visits from prominent GOP figures including Vance and Cruz. In keeping with a long-held tradition, the state’s caucuses will kick off the Republican primary calendar in 2028. The Hawkeye State is a midterm battleground this year in gubernatorial, Senate and House races.
Kamala Harris
The former vice president is expanding her midterms presence for the final few weeks, her team said this week. Between now and Nov. 3, Harris will visit Mississippi and Wisconsin and two early-primary states, New Hampshire and Georgia.
Harris began her high-profile appearances last month when she appeared with El-Sayed in Detroit.
Harris’s office and her supporters have touted her visits on the trail as a sign that she remains a high-value surrogate for the Democratic Party. But some Democrats have questioned whether the party could strengthen its chances of taking the White House by picking someone without the baggage of having lost to Donald Trump. When asked about her ambitions, Harris has repeatedly said she hasn’t decided about 2028.
Pete Buttigieg
Former transportation secretary Pete Buttigieg, who has said he is “more inclined than not” to run, is one of the most in-demand surrogates. Since January, he has visited more than 20 states to stump for candidates.
He has stops planned in North Carolina, Virginia and Mississippi, with more being added before Election Day.
Buttigieg often stumps for Democrats where he lives now in Michigan, another early state that is home to the race between El-Sayed and Republican Mike Rogers, a former U.S. congressman, one of this year’s marquee contests. When Buttigieg announced last year that he would not seek that open Senate seat, his decision prompted more speculation that he was instead sketching out plans for a 2028 run.
Gavin Newsom
California Gov. Gavin Newsom, a Democrat who spars frequently with President Donald Trump, was scheduled to spend this weekend in New Hampshire before returning home to campaign for Democratic candidates in the five California districts that the state redistricted last year. The governor pushed for the new seats to help counteract GOP efforts to add Republican-leaning districts in several states.
Speculation over Harris’s possible 2028 bid only intensified last month when Newsom said he would not run if she did.
Josh Shapiro
Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro (D) is homing in on the races happening in his own state and on Friday announced the launch of a new political action committee that he intends to use to help those candidates.
Shapiro is heavily favored to win reelection, fending off a challenge from Pennsylvania Treasurer Stacy Garrity, a Republican. But he has left the door open to a 2028 run. He has said he wants to be a “part of that conversation” and has declined to explicitly say that he will serve another full term if he wins his gubernatorial race. His new New Path PAC is the latest sign that he may be laying the groundwork for a presidential bid.
Still, Shapiro has dedicated much of his time this cycle to helping congressional and state-level candidates in Pennsylvania, and plans to stay in the state through Election Day. This year, state Democrats are hoping to maintain their House majority and flip the Senate. Those results would give Pennsylvania a Democratic trifecta if Shapiro is also reelected.
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez
Ocasio-Cortez is training her focus on Michigan, where El-Sayed, a fellow progressive, is locked in a competitive race against Rogers. She kicked off campaign events with him on Thursday. She also donated $1 million to a fund dedicated to electing him, the New York Times first reported on Friday.
Ocasio-Cortez, who is running for reelection to Congress, told the Times in September that she would make a decision on her political future after the midterms. In recent weeks, she has also traveled across New York to turn out Democratic voters.
Wes Moore
Maryland Gov. Wes Moore is also up for reelection this year. He has said that he is not interested in running for president but has also not committed to finishing a second term. Moore plans to stay in Maryland in the weeks leading up to Election Day. In July, he visited South Carolina as a surrogate for the state Democratic Party’s “Flip the Future” tour to boost voter turnout.
Andy Beshear
Andy Beshear, the two-term governor of Kentucky who cannot run again under state law, has traveled to a dozen states to campaign with Democratic candidates or headline party dinners, including four of the six early states. This month, Beshear finished a 13-stop book tour around the country, during which he hinted that he might launch a presidential bid.
Jon Ossoff
Democratic Sen. Jon Ossoff has kept his focus on Georgia and has repeatedly insisted — as recently as this week — that he will not run in 2028.
During a Senate debate on Tuesday, Ossoff said he would serve a full six-year term if he wins reelection, and that he has “zero interest in running for president.” Still, he continues to generate considerable buzz as a prospective candidate given his success as a Democrat in a swing state. Candidates for years have said they would serve full terms and not run for president, but then reversed course, former president Barack Obama among them.
JD Vance
The vice president, whom many Republicans see as the party’s heir apparent, has been traveling across the country to energize the GOP’s base as the party grows anxious that it could possibly lose both chambers of Congress this year.
Vance touched down in Michigan on Thursday for a midterms rally. In recent weeks, he has also visited Iowa, Texas, Florida, Ohio and Alaska.
Ted Cruz
Cruz, who ran for president in 2016, has been making moves that are classic for a candidate eyeing the White House and has said he wants to be part of GOP’s discussion for 2028.
Cruz has traveled to Iowa three times this year. Like many of the possible contenders from both parties, he has ramped up his appearances on podcasts and broadcast television and has promoted his recently released book, a biography about Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas.
This month, Vance told NBC News: “It is really obvious to me, at this very moment, Ted Cruz is running for president. At this moment, I’m not. I’m trying to help elect Republicans.”
Days later, Cruz hit back, saying Vance was feeling “insecure.”
“He’s welcome to make whatever comments he likes,” Cruz told Politico. “I’m going to keep focusing on the midterms and helping us win on Election Day in the next 30 days.”
John Kennedy
The U.S. senator from Louisiana has been a prolific surrogate for Republicans locked in competitive Senate races this year. Kennedy has stumped in Iowa, Ohio, Texas, Alaska, Kansas and Michigan recently, and he said he may return to Texas and Alaska again before Election Day.
This month, Kennedy, whose term ends in 2029, said he plans to run for reelection to the Senate but would consider a White House bid if he thinks he can no longer be effective in Congress.
“I would consider it,” Kennedy told NBC News. “What’s the old Judds song? Why not me on a rainy day? Why not me to love your blues away?”
He added: “On my side of the aisle, if a bunch of goobers run, and I think they’re goobers and one of the goobers might win, and I think I could do a better job, I would consider running.”
Marco Rubio
Other Republicans are hoping Secretary of State Marco Rubio will run for president, though he has said he would support Vance if the vice president launched a bid. Rubio has not done any midterms travel this year because, as a Senate-confirmed Cabinet appointee, agency policy bars him from it, a State Department spokesperson said.
“This is to avoid any appearance of partisanship in the conduct of foreign relations and in recognition of the need for the U.S. Government to speak with one voice on foreign policy matters,” the State Department said.
Rand Paul
Rand Paul, the junior Republican senator from Kentucky, has said for months that he is considering a run and will make his decision after the midterms. Paul has not been active on the campaign trail but has said publicly that the GOP will see “disastrous” results in the midterms due to the Iran war and the rising costs resulting from it. Paul, who ran unsuccessfully for president in 2016, said he would make a decision on a 2028 run after November.
Erin Cox and Dan Merica contributed to this report.
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