Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear (D) signaled “that he would put America’s housing affordability crisis at the center of his campaign if he ran for president in 2028,” Axios reports.
“It’s the latest sign that Beshear, who just kicked off a national book tour, is moving closer to a bid for the White House.”
“Beshear said the next president should pursue a massive housing initiative — with strict guidelines to ensure the money is spent quickly.”
“Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez plans to campaign across New York in the weeks before the midterm elections, and she has donated $300,000 to help boost the Democratic ticket in her home state as speculation has swirled over whether she will run for Senate or president in 2028,” the New York Times reports.
“In an interview, Ms. Ocasio-Cortez said she would be ‘traveling across the state to boost turnout in many different areas,’ including planned stops in Buffalo, Syracuse and Ithaca in the coming weeks.”
“Former vice president Mike Pence said he has ‘no plans’ to run for president in 2028,” the Washington Post reports.
Sen. Josh Hawley (R-MO) is ending speculation that he might run for president in 2028, telling the Washington Examiner that he has no interest in competing for the Republican nomination.
Said Hawley: “No, I have no intention of doing so, period.”
“Kamala Harris knows other potential 2028 Democratic candidates are waiting on her decision about running for president again. She’s going to keep them waiting,” CNN reports.
“The former vice president is running her own Malibu-based version of a Rose Garden strategy, keeping to occasional social media videos boosting Democrats generally or taking shots at President Donald Trump. Staying mostly in her recently purchased Southern California home, Harris is making calls to supporters and planning fall campaign stops but not giving a clear indication as to whether she will make a third presidential run.”
New York Post: Gavin Newsom’s vow not to run against Kamala Harris branded “impossible to believe.”
The Guardian: “After his remark went viral, stories about Trump’s young, exceptionally devoted, presidential aide Natalie Harp rippled through social and established media. Often enough, they were accompanied by an image of Ossoff, his sharp jawline captured from below as he looks into the middle distance.”
“This photographic framing has increasingly been referred to as the ‘Ossoff angle,’ perhaps in a disservice to myriad politicians from John F Kennedy to Barack Obama who also employed the technique, snapped at a low angle from a camera pit over the past century.”
“While the approach is not new, it has helped the senator for Georgia to reach the social media feeds of users far beyond his state.”
“Potential Democratic presidential candidates are scrambling to carve out their own lanes on artificial intelligence with renewed urgency, after months of laying low got blown up by last week’s spike in apocalyptic angst,” the Washington Sun reports.
“Possible 2028 candidates and their top staffers have sought advice from both Rep. Greg Casar (D-TX), who wants Democrats to back a temporary pause on AI development, and New York State Assembly member Alex Bores, who launched his own AI safety group this week.”
Vanity Fair: “Is JD Vance a craven political opportunist? A true believer in a post-Trump, MAGA agenda? Or is the presumptive 2028 GOP frontrunner waiting for the chance to be his own man? And what does his wife, Usha, think about all of it? The answers may lie in Vance’s pivotal years at Yale Law.”
“Sen. Andy Kim (D-NJ) stopped short of endorsing Medicare for All as the banner issue Democrats should run on in 2028 on Tuesday, instead arguing that the party should campaign on the broader promise of ‘guaranteed coverage’ and universal care,” Semafor reports.
“He pointed to his MediKids proposal — legislation that would guarantee universal healthcare coverage for every American under the age of 26 — as an example of how the party could pursue universal coverage through a more targeted approach to build towards guaranteed care.”
Said Kim: “I think it’s a stand-in for where we’re trying to head towards. I think we should be running on that guaranteed coverage, on that universal care.”
“Sen. Rick Scott is launching a plan for how the country should tackle its growing economic headaches as Republicans face rising voter affordability concerns heading into the midterms,” Politico reports.
“The Florida Republican, who has garnered 2028 White House speculation, will announce the ‘Rescuing America’ project in a video to be published Tuesday.”
Said Scott: “I put together a project with one goal — to educate the American public on how our economy has drastically changed, how the American dream is out of reach for so many, and how we can fix it.”
California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) said he would not run for president in 2028 if Kamala Harris is a candidate, CNN reports.
“Sen. Mark Kelly will campaign in Michigan and South Carolina next month, according to an aide, visits to early presidential primary states that are certain to stir speculation about his future,” the Washington Sun reports.
“For the senator, however, the stopovers are part of a broader effort to help Democrats ahead of November’s midterm election — especially in red districts and states that aren’t always welcoming to national Democratic politicians.”
“The 2028 race for the White House will give new political clout to a long-overlooked constituency: Native American voters,” Axios reports.
“Driving the news: New Mexico now holds an influential early spot as one of the first states to vote in the Democratic primary — on Feb. 15, 2028. That’s put Native Americans, who make up about 12% of the state, in position to wield more influence in the presidential race than ever before.”
“John Fetterman’s recorded speech to the Republican midterm convention on Wednesday was the last straw for many top Pennsylvania Democrats: They don’t want the senator anywhere around for the final weeks of this intense election year, and many are already zeroing in on a possible consensus choice to run for his seat in 2028 — regardless of whether Fetterman is on the ballot,” CNN reports.
“While several potential Democratic challengers are in the mix, many party leaders are starting to look at Pittsburgh-area Rep. Chris Deluzio as the candidate who could draw support from both the orbit of popular Gov. Josh Shapiro and Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders’ progressive wing of the party. Such broad support would be critical to win the seat in a presidential year, especially if Fetterman runs for reelection, whether as a Democrat, independent or even Republican.”
“Florida Democratic Senate candidate Angie Nixon claims she knows ‘for a fact’ that President Donald Trump will try to ‘not leave in 2028,’ arguing he is already laying the groundwork to remain in power past the end of his presidential term,” Mediaite reports.
“Vice President JD Vance’s speech at the Republican Midterm Convention on Thursday night offered a glimpse of how he is positioning himself within the Republican Party — as a potential heir to the MAGA movement who can speak its language while attempting to broaden its appeal,” ABC News reports.
“The most striking throughline in his remarks was grievance, particularly around race and identity.”
“Repeatedly, Vance argued that Republicans and their voters have been unfairly labeled as racist for raising concerns about immigration, crime, government fraud and cultural change. Democrats, he claimed, don’t simply disagree with Republicans — he said they dismiss legitimate concerns by attacking the people who raise them.”
“Vice President JD Vance on Thursday offered his young family — in particular, his newborn son — as a model and a window to the future that the potential 2028 presidential contender envisions for America,” NBC News reports.
“In a speech here at the Republicans’ midterm convention, Vance broadly criticized Democrats who he said do not share his values.”
“He also homed in specifically on two Democratic candidates this fall in Michigan: Senate hopeful Abdul El-Sayed and Will Lawrence, who is seeking a House seat. Vance seized on Lawrence’s since-deleted social media posts that were critical of the nuclear family.”
New York Times: Vance, eying 2028, relishes the spotlight at Trump’s convention.
“Vice President JD Vance looked very much like a presidential candidate-in-waiting at the Republican convention this week. He delivered a prime-time address, met with delegates from battleground states and headlined a high-dollar fundraiser with GOP donors,” the Wall Street Journal reports.
“Vance’s Thursday night speech fired up the crowd, as he laid out his vision for the America he wants his children to grow up in while painting Democrats as extreme. During the speech, audience members said the quiet part out loud, shouting ’48!’ Donald Trump is the 47th U.S. president, and the next one will be the 48th.”
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.
More about Taegan Goddard →