The Democratic field for president is still wide open and unsettled. The very early list includes former presidential candidates, governors, senators, House members and celebrities. While no one on this list has officially declared, some candidates have been more open than others about wanting to run.
Ahead of November’s midterm elections, the field is starting to take shape as a major debate roils the party: Is the surging progressive movement helping or hurting Democrats’ chances to take back the White House in two years?
Some Democrats argue it’s time to embrace bold, progressive policies to boost their party’s popularity among working-class voters. Others think centrists will stand out.
“I think Democratic voters are going to get incredibly pragmatic when it comes to 2028,” said John Anzalone, who served as the chief pollster for President Joe Biden’s winning 2020 campaign.
Here’s how the field is shaping up. (This is our fourth ranking so far. Our most recent ranking of potential Republican candidates is here.)
The standouts
Jon Ossoff, Wes Moore, Raphael Warnock and other newish names: The Democratic base seems hungry for new leaders right now. Ossoff, the 39-year-old Democratic senator from Georgia, is fitting that bill in a big way. He’s getting millions of views for his sharp social media posts and campaign speeches that mercilessly criticize President Donald Trump.
“This is the cruelest and most arrogant group of people who have ever ascended to high office in modern American history,” Ossoff told supporters in July.
He is running for reelection in Georgia, and his race will be one of the most competitive in the country.
Other Democrats point to Ossoff’s fellow senator from Georgia, Raphael Warnock, as a potentially strong contender. (Warnock is not up for election in November.)
“For the first time since Obama, there’d be a candidate that unites the progressive Democratic lane and Black voters,” Texas-based Democratic pollster Nancy Zdunkewicz said.
Moore, the first-term Maryland governor and only sitting Black governor, is described by some Democrats as young and vibrant.
“Ossoff is currently on fire,” Anzalone said, “and Moore is also the type of guy who could really catch fire.”
Kamala Harris: This summer, Democrats recommended South Carolina vote first in the 2028 Democratic nominating process. That boosts Black voters’ representation in picking the nominee and Harris’s fortunes, given the former vice president and 2024 nominee is probably the candidate on this list with the most support among Black women. She’s been rallying voters for the midterm elections by touting her “controversial” plan to abolish the electoral college and add justices to the Supreme Court. “They are ruthless! We need to be ruthless too,” she said recently of Republicans. Some Democratic insiders don’t see her as a viable candidate, given she lost to Trump.
Gavin Newsom: The other California Democrat on this list aside from Harris has used his position as governor of the largest Democratic-run state to consistently oppose Trump. This summer he announced he and his wife were under federal investigation. (The Post has reported prosecutors are looking into potential tax crimes related to a nonprofit Newsom’s wife is linked to.) Newsom framed it as a compliment: “He’s coming after me because I’m considering running for president,” Newsom said of Trump.
Josh Shapiro: The popular Pennsylvania governor has had a relatively low-profile summer compared to other candidates on this list. He appeared in a music video. He has declined to take sides on the progressive-versus-centrist split in the party (at least for now). His breakout moment may be coming. He’s up for reelection in November and is trying to help Democrats take back control of the House by helping his party win four of the most competitive races in the nation, all in his state.
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez: Democratic socialists are having their own moment. After helping elect New York City’s mayor earlier this year, they and the broader progressive movement ousted longtime members of Congress in deep blue cities and won a hard-fought primary in Michigan. Ocasio-Cortez, a congresswoman from New York, was one of the first members of the Democratic Socialists of America to win federal office, and she’s an obvious pick for the broader progressive movement to get behind if she runs for president. She hasn’t ruled it out, though she could also run for Senate.
Mark Kelly: The senator from Arizona has emerged as a forceful pushback against his party’s turn to the left. He’s also a candidate some Republicans say scare them: He’s a former astronaut (at a time when astronauts are cool again) and an astronomical fundraiser from a swing state.
Pete Buttigieg: President Joe Biden’s transportation secretary is cited by Democrats as one of the party’s best messengers and another young candidate who can catch fire. Despite not currently holding office, he’s near the top of several polls of Democratic primary voters.
The middle of the pack
Any other number of governors: JB Pritzker, the billionaire governor of Illinois, has urged his party to focus more on economic issues than Trump: “You don’t win elections talking to the public about democracy,” he said.
Kentucky’s Democratic governor Andy Beshear has been pitching himself as someone who can turn rural America against Trump. When Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-Kentucky) was hospitalized for weeks without many updates, Beshear demanded McConnell prove his “capacity to serve” or resign his seat.
Jared Polis is on his final year as governor of Colorado. He’s a wealthy businessman who has received some credit for turning a reddish state more blue. He recently shocked his party by commuting the prison sentence of former election official Tina Peters, who was convicted on charges tied to Trump’s efforts to stay in power after losing the 2020 presidential election.
No longer on our list is Gretchen Whitmer. This year marks her final term as governor of Michigan, and she’s repeatedly indicated she’s not interested in running.
Any other number of U.S. senators: Sen. Cory Booker of New Jersey is a fiery presence in the Senate. Last year he broke the Senate record for the longest individual floor speech. This month, in a committee hearing he declared Republicans’ food stamp cuts as “effing ridiculous.”
Sen. Elissa Slotkin of Michigan, one of the few women on this list, served combat tours as a CIA analyst and represents a swing state. She’s crisscrossing the Midwest to connect with voters. The centrist could play an interesting role in trying to help left-wing Democrat Abdul El-Sayed win the state’s other Senate seat in November.
Sen. Chris Murphy of Connecticut has been a prominent Democratic voice on foreign policy for many years. Like many candidates on this list, he’s been critical of Israel’s violence in the Gaza Strip. He also made headlines recently saying he’d support a “bad deal” with Iran to end the war.
“There’s only a couple of Democrats that are thinking of running for president that have won red states,” Sen. Ruben Gallego of Arizona said recently. “I’m one of them. There’s only a couple of Democrats that can speak to working-class America, especially Latino men. I’m one of them.”
Rahm Emanuel: The former Chicago mayor was previously President Barack Obama’s chief of staff. Emanuel is leaning hard on policy. He outlined a proposal for Israeli-Arab peace while traveling to Israel last month. Back home, he’s proposed a national social media ban for children, a mandatory retirement age for federal politicians and judges, and bringing back accountability systems for teachers.
Ro Khanna: The congressman from California has the eye of some progressives for being one of the first voices in the House to speak out against Israel’s military action in Gaza, for playing a leading role in bringing the Justice Department’s Jeffrey Epstein files to light, and for being willing to regularly go on Fox News.
The dark horses
A celebrity or other political figure: ESPN commentator Stephen A. Smith is considering a run as a centrist. United Auto Workers president Shawn Fain is popping up as a possibility among some on the left.
Democrats I’ve talked to say to leave room for surprise candidates. “There may be someone running we’ve never thought of,” Anzalone said.
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