Greg Bluestein: “Sen. Jon Ossoff has fueled a wave of speculation about a potential 2028 presidential campaign with his viral rallies and cutting commentary on Republicans.”

“But the pundits are focused on the wrong Georgian.”

“Sen. Raphael Warnock is the Georgia Democrat taking the most visible early steps to raise his stature beyond his home state.”

“Republican megadonor Ken Griffin said at a private conference Wednesday that he’d support Secretary of State Marco Rubio over Vice President JD Vance in a 2028 GOP presidential primary,” Axios reports.

“Democrats tried to fight back against Project 2025. But as they’ve watched many of the ideas it contained come to fruition under President Donald Trump, some of them want a blueprint for a future administration of their own,” NOTUS reports.

“And they want it ready to go if a Democrat retakes the White House in 2028.”

“A group of Democrats is building a governing agenda that it has dubbed ‘Project 2029.’ Its advisers have begun drafting policies the authors hope could be followed by the Democratic candidates expected to launch a campaign for president ahead of the 2028 election.”

Margaret Sullivan: “Given how impetuous Donald Trump is, his vice-president, JD Vance, strikes some Americans as a more stable alternative. A good bet, some of the Maga faithful believe, as the 2028 Republican nominee for president, and the eventual occupant of the Oval Office.”

“Every bit as rightwing as Trump but more serious and predictable – that seems to be Vance’s pitch to the public. And he clearly wants to be president; he’s as ambitious as they come.”

“Why, then, does he keep saying such loony things?”

“Rahm Emanuel, the former Chicago mayor and potential Democratic presidential candidate, plans to use a speech in Tel Aviv on Wednesday to warn that America’s relationship with Israel is ‘not sustainable’ unless the Israeli government sharply changes course,” the Washington Post reports.

“This is JD Vance’s summer: The vice president penned a bestselling book, helped broker a tentative peace deal with Iran, embarked on a media blitz and — most importantly for him — impressed the man in the Oval Office,” Axios reports.

“Why it matters: Vance’s performances on TV, in polls and on the global chessboard underscore how — at least at this moment — the VP looks like President Trump’s undisputed political heir if he runs in 2028.”

Said one White House official: “JD is earning it, and Trump sees it.”

“The Democratic Party is divided. But almost all Democratic voters still agree on one thing: They really like Barack Obama,” Axios reports.

“Why it matters: Obama remains the most powerful and popular Democrat in America, with the ability to play kingmaker in the presidential election — if he chooses to.”

“Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s attacks have boosted Democratic Sen. Mark Kelly’s profile and war chest. Now he will use both to back Nancy Lacore, a former vice admiral who’s running for Congress after Hegseth fired her,” NOTUS reports.

“Kelly’s political operation plans to announce Wednesday that it will support Lacore among 10 military veteran candidates in competitive House races, highlighting the Arizona senator’s growing national influence that has fueled speculation about a potential 2028 White House run.”

“Kamala Harris privately called New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani last week and has been holding lengthy, closed-door meetings with other prominent progressives — including pro-Palestinian activists,” Axios reports.

“It’s the latest sign the former vice president is laying the groundwork for a potential White House run in 2028 — and looking to strengthen or repair her relationships with left-wing Democrats.”

“Vice President JD Vance said that he believes Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez will be the leading Democratic candidate for president 2028,” CNN reports.

Said Vance: “I think it’s got to be AOC. I know that’s probably conventional wisdom.”

CNN: “He practiced no consultant conventional wisdom of tacking center or soft in a purple state. Nor were there any swings for or against socialism. He made just one passing reference to the Reflecting Pool, but it centered on incompetence and wastefully sending the National Guard to surround the site, rather than giggling about the color. Ossoff drove hard at Donald Trump again and again, in a state the president won twice, while including his disgust at the conspiratorial obsession after Trump lost it the other time.”

“This is the strategy that appears to be working in a must-win race in 2026’s trickiest territory for Democrats and has turned Ossoff into an online sensation along the way. The rallies have become such events that vendors set up around the block from Saturday’s event to sell their own knock-off Ossoff T-shirts and bespoke spray-painted Barack Obama ‘Hope’-style portraits for lawn signs.”

“He’s gone from flash-in-the-pan failed 2017 House candidate running for a written off Senate seat in 2020 to being pulled into presidential speculation.”

“Maryland Gov. Wes Moore has cast himself as a champion of workers, but behind the scenes his relationships with some labor unions are increasingly rocky,” Axios reports.

“Several union officials tell Axios that the potential 2028 presidential candidate says the right things to them but often doesn’t follow through — and that he’s even combative toward organized labor at times.”

“The 2028 presidential election is JD Vance’s to lose, Maggie Haberman said on ‘Meet the Press’ Sunday – something Donald Trump isn’t happy about,” The Wrap reports.

Said Haberman: “I will say, there is nothing in our reporting that suggests that Rubio is doing the things one would be doing to run. And it is still Vance’s to lose, which also doesn’t necessarily thrill Trump, who doesn’t like the idea of somebody coming next.”

The Atlantic: “Secretary of State Marco Rubio has for months been working to seal an agreement between the Israeli and Lebanese governments to clamp down on Hezbollah and allow Israel to withdraw its forces from Southern Lebanon.”

“Then, last week, the future of Lebanon appeared front and center in the new agreement between the United States and Iran championed by Vice President Vance—giving Tehran a big say in Lebanon’s future.”

“The result is that the U.S. is now negotiating over one country on two different tracks—led by two men with significantly different styles and worldviews… The president’s top-two emissaries also happen to be the highest-profile potential candidates to succeed him.”

New York Times: “Mr. Beshear, who seems to be everywhere on the 2026 midterms circuit, is in demand as a surrogate for Democrats in frontline races, all while positioning himself for an expected presidential run in 2028.”

“Democrats, who urgently need to be competitive in more states if they are to win back Congress and eventually the White House, see hope in Mr. Beshear, a twice-elected Democratic governor of a deep-red state that President Trump won by 30 points in 2024. But some wonder whether his success is replicable outside of Kentucky, where he benefited from the popularity of his father, a two-term governor from 2007 to 2015.”