“Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear will make the Democratic pilgrimage to South Carolina today, with stops scheduled across the first presidential primary state,” Semafor reports.
“Beshear, whose national star soared after he won reelection in 2023, will hold three separate meet-and-greets.”
“Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s super PAC co-hosted an organizing call for supporters and influencers last week, stirring speculation that he’s positioning for a run at the White House in 2028,” Axios reports.
Chuck Todd: “Since the Democrats regained the White House in 1976, only four people have won the presidency: Jimmy Carter, Bill Clinton, Barack Obama, and Joe Biden. Of those four, three of them — Carter, Clinton, and Obama — were barely even in the top tier of conversation three years before their nomination.”
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“We’ll see… I will not leave a broken country to my kids or to anyone else’s.”
— Gov. Andy Beshear (D), quoted by NBC News, on whether he’ll run for president in 2028.
“Iowa Democrats are urging the national party to restore the state’s traditional place as the first contest of the presidential primary season — and some are pushing for Iowa’s caucuses to be first even if the Democratic National Committee disagrees,” Axios reports.
“Iowa returning to the lead-off spot could scramble the 2028 presidential contest, and significantly affect who becomes the Democratic nominee.”
Sen. Ruben Gallego (D-AZ) “says he’s heading to Iowa next month, fueling speculation he may be eyeing a 2028 presidential bid,” NBC News reports.
“Less than six months into President Trump’s second term, several possible GOP contenders for president in 2028 already are racing to build their national profiles, travel to early primary states and establish relationships with major donors,” Axios reports.
Said former RNC member Henry Barbour: “Everyone knows Trump has one term left, and I would say its a wide-open opportunity. These things start earlier and earlier.”
“Trump has mentioned Vice President Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio as possible successors, and they’re widely seen as the early favorites for the 2028 nomination.”
“Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, who has been raising her profile with a series of photo ops with ICE agents during immigration raids, is also viewed as a possible 2028 contender.”
“Democrats are rushing to portray Vice President JD Vance as the central figure behind the passage of the GOP’s megabill, with potential 2028 rivals arguing it will come back to haunt the MAGA heir apparent,” Politico reports.
“After 27 hours of debate in the Senate, Vance’s Tuesday vote brought the megabill one step closer to President Donald Trump’s desk. Democrats’ rush to tie the bill so closely to the vice president illustrates their belief that it could be toxic for the GOP in the midterms and 2028 — and that it could hurt Vance if he runs for president once Trump leaves the political stage.”
New York Times: “The plan to write a policy agenda for the next Democratic president is at the center of a raging debate within the party: whether its biggest problem is its ideas or its difficulty in selling them.”
Politico: “In interviews, several major donors in the state told Politico they fear her reemergence as a candidate would re-open still-fresh wounds from her defeat in 2024. Some harbor lingering frustration about how her billion-dollar campaign juggernaut ended in debt and want assurances she would have a clear plan to win the governor’s mansion.”
Said one Democratic megadonor: “Kamala just reminds you we are in this complete shit storm… With Biden, we got bamboozled… I think she did the best she could in that situation, but obviously she knew about the cognitive decline too. I’ve written so many checks because I knew the Trump administration would be horrible, but we’re living in a nightmare because of the Democrats. I’m furious at them, truly.”
A new Emerson College poll of the 2028 Democratic presidential primary finds Pete Buttiieg with 16% support, Kamala Harris at 13%, Gavin Newsom at 12%, Josh Shapiro at 7% and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez at 7%. Twenty-three percent are undecided.
Sen. Elissa Slotkin (D-MI), who won competitive races twice with Donald Trump on the ballot, is pitching an economic “war plan” for her party today, focused on delivering results and abandoning purity tests, the Washington Post reports.
Gilad Edelman: “Since Donald Trump’s return to the White House, Murphy has emerged as one of the most vocally freaked-out Democrats in Washington. He has become a fixture of cable news and highbrow politics podcasts, as well as a prolific poster of five-alarm-fire social-media content…”
“Murphy knows that the party brand—out of touch, too focused on social issues, too judgmental—is desperately in need of a reboot. If he is the walking embodiment of Generic Democrat, perhaps that makes him the guy for the job.”
Rahm Emanuel admits the potential of taking on JB Pritzker in a 2028 presidential run is “going to be awkward,” NBC News reports.
Asked to expound on what would make it awkward, the famously unguarded Emanuel said: “It’s so fucking — it’s self-evident, Jesus Christ.”
“President Donald Trump has catapulted Gavin Newsom to the front of the Democratic resistance,” Politico reports.
“The California governor had faded from national prominence as public attention shifted to Washington and, in his home state, the deliberations over Kamala Harris’ political future. But as Trump and his allies make Newsom their foil in a brawl over immigration unrest in Los Angeles and the president’s unilateral deployment of the National Guard and Marines, they are also elevating his stature on the left.”
Said GOP strategist Mike Madrid, who opposes Trump: “I think this is helping Trump broadly. I also think it’ll help Gavin — especially if he gets arrested.”
“Ambitious Democrats with an eye on a presidential run are in the middle of a slow-motion Sister Souljah moment,” Politico reports.
“Searching for a path out of the political wilderness, potential 2028 candidates, especially those hailing from blue states, are attempting to ratchet back a leftward lurch on social issues some in the party say cost them the November election.”
Sen. Ruben Gallego (D-AZ) “is already making moves to appeal to moderates and boost his national profile barely five months after winning his seat,” Axios reports.
Said Gallego: “What happened the last election is that we got so pure, and we kept so pure that we started kicking people out of the tent. It ends up there aren’t enough people in the tent to win elections.”
“Gallego — who kept his seat in the Democrats’ column despite Trump’s victory in Arizona — is planning additional stops in key battlegrounds over the coming months.”
“Andrew Cuomo hasn’t won the New York City mayor’s race yet, but he’s already planning a national campaign to take on President Donald Trump — whose Department of Justice is reportedly investigating him,” Politico reports.
“He said he’s not thinking of a future role beyond being mayor, but sees an opportunity to make a national case for Democrats.”
CNN: Andrew Cuomo campaigns for New York’s redemption— and his own.
Taegan Goddard is the founder of Political Wire, one of the earliest and most influential political web sites. He also runs Political Job Hunt, Electoral Vote Map and the Political Dictionary.
Goddard spent more than a decade as managing director and chief operating officer of a prominent investment firm in New York City. Previously, he was a policy adviser to a U.S. Senator and Governor.
Goddard is also co-author of You Won - Now What? (Scribner, 1998), a political management book hailed by prominent journalists and politicians from both parties. In addition, Goddard's essays on politics and public policy have appeared in dozens of newspapers across the country.
Goddard earned degrees from Vassar College and Harvard University. He lives in New York with his wife and three sons.
Goddard is the owner of Goddard Media LLC.
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