“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.”

“Sen. Raphael Warnock’s final midterm campaign surrogate sprint will only increase chatter around the possibility that he might run for president in 2028,” Politico reports.

”First, he’ll touch down in New Hampshire on Tuesday before hitting Nevada on Wednesday. Next, he’ll travel to South Carolina (Oct. 13), Mississippi (Oct. 14), North Carolina (Oct. 15), South Carolina (Oct. 16-17), Michigan (Oct. 20-21), Wisconsin (Oct. 23) and Ohio (Oct. 24-26).”

“Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear, a Democrat whose father held the same job just over a decade ago, wants you to know that he’s not a ‘nepo baby,'” Axios reports.

“Beshear brought up the phrase unprompted when Axios asked him to respond to critics who say that he won his ruby-red state largely because his dad, Steve, was elected to statewide office there four times before.”

“Beshear is likely trying get ahead of the ‘nepo baby’ charge because it could undermine one of his main pitches as a potential 2028 presidential candidate — that his success in Kentucky means he’s more electable than other Democrats.”

“Sen. John Kennedy said he would consider jumping in the 2028 presidential race if he does not like his party’s options for the Republican nominee,” the Washington Sun reports.

Said Kennedy: “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.”

“Sen. Ted Cruz fired back at JD Vance for suggesting he’s already focused on a 2028 presidential bid, calling the vice president ‘insecure’ while insisting he’s focused on the 2026 midterms,” Politico reports.

Said Cruz: “In my experience, people engage in political bomb-throwing when they’re feeling insecure. So he’s welcome to make whatever comments he likes. I’m going to keep focusing on the midterms and helping us win on Election Day in the next 30 days.”

Reagan’s 1976 primary challenge to Ford set the template Cruz and Vance are now following against their own party’s sitting administration.

“Vice President JD Vance declared it ‘really obvious’ that Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) is already planning a White House bid while insisting he has yet to make a decision about 2028,” Mediaite reports.

“Vice President JD Vance acknowledged Thursday that Republicans face an ‘uphill climb’ in next month’s midterm elections — and that the results may be a data point he reviews as he decides whether to run for president in 2028,” NBC News reports.

Said Vance: “Historically there’s always a bit of an uphill climb, and I think you definitely sense that. I also think you can sense a sense of cautious optimism, in the sense that, you know, people feel like the numbers are sort of moving, maybe in our direction.”

He added: “Politically, there’s just a recognition that it’s always going to be hard to win a midterm when you have the White House, the Senate and the House.”

“As polls suggest that Gina Hinojosa, a Democrat, is competitive in her campaign to become the first Latina governor of the usually reliably Republican state of Texas, a growing number of prominent Latino officials are angry that she is not getting more help from the party,” the New York Times reports.

“Now there are veiled threats that if the Democratic Governors Association fails to invest in her bid, some Latino leaders could withhold their support from the group’s chairman, Gov. Andy Beshear of Kentucky, should he, as expected, run for president in 2028.”