Just dropped · Trial Balloon · Ep. 192
November Surprises
“Former Vice President Kamala Harris told actress Keke Palmer she has not yet decided on a presidential run in 2028 amid mounting speculation surrounding whether the Democrat will launch a third campaign,” NewsNation reports.
Said Harris: “I haven’t decided. I haven’t decided yet. I will, I promise.”
“California Gov. Gavin Newsom is headed to New Hampshire this weekend to campaign for Democratic candidates in the November election, a continuation of his reconnaissance tour through swing states in preparation for a possible 2028 presidential run,” the Los Angeles Times reports.
“The trip follows voyages to other early primary voting states, including South Carolina in September and Nevada in July, that could be critical to his campaign if he officially joins the race.”
“Buoyed by a string of encouraging polls, Democrats have grown more confident about the outcome of next month’s midterm elections,” MS NOW reports.
“But the 2028 map is another story.”
“In the seven states most likely to decide the next presidential race, a generic Democrat and a generic Republican are tied at 45%, with 10% of voters undecided, according to new polling from Project 270, a newly launched independent Democratic research initiative.”
“Kamala Harris has kept the door open to running for president again in 2028. What she failed to do over the past year, even onetime supporters and allies of the former vice president say, is give voters a reason to reconsider her if she does,” Politico reports.
“Rep. Jake Auchincloss (D-MA) is doing the things many Democrats do before seeking higher office. He’s hitting early presidential primary states. He’s stumping for candidates in swing districts. He’s trying to help craft what Democrats’ winning message should be,” the Boston Globe reports.
“So is this all the precursor to something more, something bigger, something, say, presidential in 2028?”
Said Auchincloss: “Zero percent chance.”
“Move over Wisconsin and Arizona. With Democrats making Republicans sweat in a host of red-state Senate races, a new batch of swing states may be emerging,” Axios reports.
“Some of the closest Senate races are in Nebraska, Ohio, Texas, Iowa and even Kansas. Sure, this could be a blip — or a reminder that it’s a 50-50 moody nation, even in a bunch of red states.”
”The conditions that helped Barack Obama carry conservative states like Indiana and North Carolina in 2008 — an unpopular war, a bruising economy, an electorate hungry for change — could resonate again in 2028.”
“Mark Kelly and Ruben Gallego are on a presidential campaign collision course,” the Arizona Republic reports.
“Both of Arizona’s Democratic senators are weighing presidential bids in 2028, hoping their ability to win in a right-leaning border state will open up a path to the White House. The dynamic already is setting them up to compete for endorsements, donors and, most importantly, votes.”
Said Gallego: “We’ve had some very awkward conversations on five-hour flights about this. No, no, just kidding. No, no. We haven’t, actually.”
“Rep. Don Bacon said on a new Our Republican Legacy podcast episode that he’s mulling over a run for president in 2028,” Nebraska Public Media reports.
Said Bacon: “I won’t lie. Yes, I would love to, but I would also just be happy to be the right-hand or the left-hand man to someone else that has the same values.”
He added: “But in the end, I want our values to dominate in our party. And I think our country needs people who are not using the FBI, the IRS going through their adversaries, or the attorney general. We want people to be respectful. I like that Ronald Reagan had Tip O’Neill at the White House at times, and had a glass of scotch, right? I think we need leadership that stands as an example of decent humanity and represents Christian values.”
“Gov. Mikie Sherrill says Democrats haven’t been effective — and she’s holding up New Jersey as a model for how they can do better,” Politico reports.
“Nine months into her first term, Sherrill, 54, is calling for a ‘new generation of leadership’ to break with the party’s old habits. She also acknowledged that she has fielded calls about a presidential campaign of her own.”
William Kristol: “In three weeks, we’re likely to see a Democratic wave breaching—perhaps overwhelming—Republican electoral fortifications. In present circumstances, that Democratic wave will be a pro-democracy wave, and that will be something to celebrate.”
“Yes, I acknowledge that gas prices and other material concerns are probably more important to the voters than the theory and practice of liberal democracy. And, yes, I realize that this election will be more of a referendum on the failures of President Trump and his party than a deep reflection on the principles and institutions of a free society. Still, a thoroughgoing defeat for Trump and Trumpism will be a crucial victory for liberal democracy.”
“But it won’t be a decisive victory. It won’t even guarantee success in 2028—though, as Ron Brownstein noted in our conversation yesterday, there are very few instances in American history of a party retaining the White House when its outgoing president is strikingly unpopular.”
“After hearing Louisiana Sen. John Kennedy unload his characteristically colorful combination of homespun quips, over-the-top insults and Talladega Nights movie quotes to reporters on Friday, former Rep. Mike Rogers, the Michigan Senate GOP candidate with whom Kennedy was campaigning, knew his own words wouldn’t be getting much attention, CNN reports.
Said Kennedy: “It’s like following the baton twirler in the talent show. You know, you’re never going to win that thing.”
“Kennedy has taken his act on the road, campaigning with GOP Senate nominees in several states in the closing weeks of this year’s midterm elections — including stops in Ohio on Thursday and Michigan on Friday, where he repeatedly declared that Rogers ‘pisses excellence.’ The 74-year-old Kennedy is ‘tired,’ he said, but still thinking about making a second trip to Alaska and a stop in Texas, both also home to key Senate races, ahead of Election Day.”
“Pete Buttigieg has been able to campaign for Democrats across the country more than many of his potential 2028 rivals this past year. One reason: He doesn’t have a job,” Axios reports.
“That’s by choice. Buttigieg said no when top Democrats urged him to run for governor or the U.S. Senate in Michigan this year.”
“That decision is a gamble for Buttigieg’s presidential ambitions. He’s been able to build a national network over the last two years but hasn’t added to his relatively thin resume as a former mayor of South Bend, Ind. and Joe Biden’s transportation secretary.”
CNN: “Warnock’s friend and fellow Georgia senator, Jon Ossoff, immediately shuts down all speculation about whether he’ll run for president. Warnock very much does not, other than to say that he wants to make sure Democrats get through this year’s midterms first.”
“He is making campaign stops to boost Democratic allies while test-driving a 2028 message that critiques both parties on faith and character.”
“As former Vice President Kamala Harris lays the groundwork for a potential third presidential campaign, her husband has privately told some people he would prefer she didn’t run and some donors have told her directly that a bid would be a longshot,” the Wall Street Journal reports.
“Harris has said she is undecided on whether to launch another run for the White House, but she has taken steps that could be a precursor to such a bid, including speaking with major donors, hiring staff and traveling to battleground states to boost Democratic candidates in the November midterm elections.”
“Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro refused to commit to serving out a full term if he wins reelection, following in the footsteps of Maryland Gov. Wes Moore as 2028 rumors fly,” the New York Post reports.
“Instead, Shapiro trained fire on his GOP rival, state Treasurer Stacy Garrity, for seeking the governor’s mansion instead of finishing out a full term in office.”
“If your top political advisors are not paying attention to the midterms and instead are paying attention to taking money off the table in a foreign country, that seems to indicate to me that they’ve moved on from Donald Trump as their top priority, and I think you’re going to see a lot of that.”
— Former Gov. Chris Christie (R), quoted by Politico.
“In the lone debate of his reelection campaign, Maryland Gov. Wes Moore’s toughest question was about his own future,” the Washington Post reports.
“Asked in Tuesday’s debate if he would commit to serving four years if reelected, Moore said that he was committed to serving the people of Maryland and their interests, including defending them from the Trump administration.”
Moore was then pressed to give a yes or no and responded: “I think I gave the answer. I’m committed to the people of Maryland, and that’s why I’m running for reelection.”
“Sen. Ruben Gallego (D-AZ) is rolling out a new economic plan meant to help rebuild the middle class as he eyes a potential White House run in 2028,” the Washington Post reports.
“Gallego said he is putting out the plan to help shape his party’s agenda if Democrats retake the Senate next month in the midterm elections. But he acknowledged that it also lays out some of the policies he would champion if he runs for president.”
Said Gallego: “We want to make sure people kind of have a viewpoint of where my position is, where my heart is when it comes to where working-class America is.”
Taegan Goddard
Taegan Goddard is the founder of Political Wire -- which for more than two decades has been one of the nation's most influential political news sites.
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