# Frontrunners for Democratic presidential nomination in 2028 **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Created:** [January 16, 2025, 6:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/frontrunners-for-democratic-presidential-nomination-in-2028/1013036 "2025-01-16T06:50:54Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 25
**Author:** ![Love\_Rhombus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/love_rhombus/32/10694_2.png) [@Love\_Rhombus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Love_Rhombus)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2025, 8:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/frontrunners-for-democratic-presidential-nomination-in-2028/1013036/481 "2025-04-18T20:36:29Z")
> [@Smapti](#): > > Barack Obama wasn’t “electable” in 2008, either. Yes, but the world has moved on since then. ---
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2025, 10:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/frontrunners-for-democratic-presidential-nomination-in-2028/1013036/482 "2025-04-20T22:46:00Z")
[![](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_fullsize/plain/did:plc:5o6k7jvowuyaquloafzn3cfw/bafkreibgmyuvsaq6bf5t5ggazkgkey36vg547qfeaj2kl723cpsqvzyska@jpeg) ](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_fullsize/plain/did:plc:5o6k7jvowuyaquloafzn3cfw/bafkreibgmyuvsaq6bf5t5ggazkgkey36vg547qfeaj2kl723cpsqvzyska@jpeg) Van Hollen may have put himself in the running after this last week. ---
**Author:** ![Thing.Fish](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thing.fish/32/9168_2.png) [@Thing.Fish](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thing.Fish)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2025, 10:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/frontrunners-for-democratic-presidential-nomination-in-2028/1013036/483 "2025-04-21T22:30:04Z")
At this point, I think van Hollen is worth approximately ten megaNewsoms. ---
**Author:** ![Thing.Fish](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thing.fish/32/9168_2.png) [@Thing.Fish](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thing.Fish)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2025, 4:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/frontrunners-for-democratic-presidential-nomination-in-2028/1013036/484 "2025-04-22T16:24:34Z")
Here’s a name we should be seriously considering: [Dean Phillips.](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dean_Phillips) He didn’t run for re-election to Congress last year and I’m not sure what he’s up to now. If you’ve forgotten, he was the Maryland Representative who ran for President last year. He said he generally agreed with President Biden’s policy positions, but he was running because Biden was too old to do the job effectively, and was also too unpopular to have a realistic chance of re-election. If we’re not going to nominate him, we should at least bring him on stage at the 2028 Convention so that the entire Democratic Party establishment can prostate themselves before him and chant in unison “You were right, and we were wrong!”. ---
**Author:** ![ThelmaLou](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thelmalou/32/390_2.png) [@ThelmaLou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThelmaLou)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2025, 1:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/frontrunners-for-democratic-presidential-nomination-in-2028/1013036/485 "2025-04-24T01:56:46Z")
Impressive piece by Josh Shapiro after the arson attack. He is the anti-trump in every way. I dunno… Can the country elect a Jew? > **[Opinion | Gov. Josh Shapiro: Finding Moral Clarity After an Arsonist’s Attack](https://www.nytimes.com/2025/04/23/opinion/josh-shapiro-governor-mansion-arson.html?unlocked_article_code=1.CE8.moH2.-XYQxrqMx1e5&smid=url-share)** > > This level of violence has to stop. ---
**Author:** ![PhillyGuy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ed655f/32.png) [@PhillyGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PhillyGuy)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2025, 2:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/frontrunners-for-democratic-presidential-nomination-in-2028/1013036/486 "2025-04-24T02:44:25Z")
> [@ThelmaLou](#): > > Can the country elect a Jew? Claudia Sheinbaum got 61 percent of the vote in Mexico and, ten months into her term, is running above 80 percent approval. And what about Zelenskyy being elected, despite a history of Ukrainian antisemitism? There are other examples. Religion, except maybe atheism, just does not have the electoral salience it used to. It’s not just religion. Same with gender, ethnicity, and race. Think Obama. The current UK Tory leader, Kemi Badenoch, is a Black woman. The U.S. is not as much of an outlier as supposed. ---
**Author:** ![Kolak\_of\_Twilo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kolak_of_twilo/32/73_2.png) [@Kolak\_of\_Twilo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kolak_of_Twilo)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2025, 4:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/frontrunners-for-democratic-presidential-nomination-in-2028/1013036/487 "2025-04-24T04:10:53Z")
I doubt Mexico or Ukraine have as many supporters of Gaza as are in the US. For a Jew to get elected as a Democrat will take a miracle unless there is a major change in geopolitics. ---
**Author:** ![Love\_Rhombus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/love_rhombus/32/10694_2.png) [@Love\_Rhombus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Love_Rhombus)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2025, 1:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/frontrunners-for-democratic-presidential-nomination-in-2028/1013036/488 "2025-04-24T13:47:24Z")
If it’s him? Maaaaybe? In a more sane world? ---
**Author:** ![Thing.Fish](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thing.fish/32/9168_2.png) [@Thing.Fish](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thing.Fish)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2025, 4:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/frontrunners-for-democratic-presidential-nomination-in-2028/1013036/489 "2025-04-24T16:53:40Z")
I think the Gaza situation is going to be a minefield for any Democratic candidate in the primaries, but particularly for a Jew, and particularly for a Jew like Shapiro who takes a very one-sided pro-Israel position. But I don’t think any Democrat can get nominated by strongly identifying with one side or the other. ---
**Author:** ![IkesAcolyte](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ikesacolyte/32/19012_2.png) [@IkesAcolyte](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/IkesAcolyte)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2025, 5:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/frontrunners-for-democratic-presidential-nomination-in-2028/1013036/490 "2025-04-24T17:00:40Z")
> [@PhillyGuy](#): > > There are other examples. Religion, except maybe atheism, just does not have the electoral salience it used to. Agreed. When JFK was elected, the idea of having a Catholic president was extremely controversial. I can’t remember a single person make a note about Biden being catholic. ---
**Author:** ![Thing.Fish](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thing.fish/32/9168_2.png) [@Thing.Fish](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thing.Fish)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2025, 5:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/frontrunners-for-democratic-presidential-nomination-in-2028/1013036/491 "2025-04-24T17:06:09Z")
And Bernie Sanders’ career seems to indicate that you can even get away with clearly _being_ an atheist, as long as you tap dance around using the actual word. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2025, 5:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/frontrunners-for-democratic-presidential-nomination-in-2028/1013036/492 "2025-04-24T17:10:24Z")
> **[The Book of Bernie: What is Sanders’ religion? | CNN Politics](https://www.cnn.com/2016/04/14/politics/bernie-sanders-religion/index.html)** > > Nobody would mistake Bernie Sanders’ stump speech for a sermon. When making moral arguments, he’s more likely to quote statistics than Scripture. _Though raised Jewish, Sanders says that he is “not particularly religious,” nor is he a member of any congregation or synagogue. “I am not actively involved in organized religion,” [he has told reporters](https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/bernie-sanders-finally-answers-the-god-question/2016/01/26/83429390-bfb0-11e5-bcda-62a36b394160_story.html?postshare=9611453895803704&tid=ss_tw)._ _But at a [CNN town hall](http://www.cnn.com/2016/02/03/politics/democratic-town-hall-transcript/) in New Hampshire in February, Sanders seemed to contradict himself._ _Ad Feedback_ _“It’s a guiding principle in my life, absolutely,” said the Vermont senator and Democratic presidential candidate._ _“You know, everyone practices religion in a different way. To me, I would not be here tonight, I would not be running for president of the United States if I did not have very strong religious and spiritual feelings.”_ Not atheist at all, more like agnostic or maybe deist. More and more people are staying away from organized religion, and saying they are not a member of any organized faith, That is not being an atheist. ---
**Author:** ![Saint\_Cad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saint_cad/32/18907_2.png) [@Saint\_Cad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saint_Cad)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2025, 5:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/frontrunners-for-democratic-presidential-nomination-in-2028/1013036/493 "2025-04-24T17:10:27Z")
> [@iiandyiiii](#): > > If the public doesn’t care about due process, then educate them. You realize there is a large percentage of Americans that know about rights but get angry at people that invoke them when it inconveniences the police (or receipt checkers at Walmart). Do you think they care about due process when “some people need deportin’”? ---
**Author:** ![Thing.Fish](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thing.fish/32/9168_2.png) [@Thing.Fish](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thing.Fish)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2025, 5:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/frontrunners-for-democratic-presidential-nomination-in-2028/1013036/494 "2025-04-24T17:33:58Z")
I’m going to describe that as “tap dancing”, but YMMV. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2025, 12:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/frontrunners-for-democratic-presidential-nomination-in-2028/1013036/495 "2025-04-25T00:17:45Z")
Sure, but not an atheist. Maybe he doesnt want to use the term agnostic. ---
**Author:** ![Thing.Fish](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thing.fish/32/9168_2.png) [@Thing.Fish](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thing.Fish)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2025, 12:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/frontrunners-for-democratic-presidential-nomination-in-2028/1013036/496 "2025-04-25T00:30:27Z")
Well, Bernie is not one of the frontrunners for 2028, so I apologize for the hijack. ---
**Author:** ![Johanna](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johanna/32/8318_2.png) [@Johanna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johanna)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2025, 12:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/frontrunners-for-democratic-presidential-nomination-in-2028/1013036/497 "2025-04-25T00:32:06Z")
Not even a Kamala could thread the eye of that needle. ---
**Author:** ![Happy\_Lendervedder](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/happy_lendervedder/32/8488_2.png) [@Happy\_Lendervedder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Happy_Lendervedder)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2025, 2:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/frontrunners-for-democratic-presidential-nomination-in-2028/1013036/498 "2025-04-28T14:29:18Z")
Pritzker had a good weekend at a New Hampshire fundraiser it seems, and is sounding more and more like a candidate for 2028. Both [The Hill](https://thehill.com/homenews/campaign/5270744-pritzker-calls-for-protests/) and [Politico](https://www.politico.com/news/2025/04/27/jb-pritzker-pillories-do-nothing-democrats-at-new-hampshire-fundraiser-00312125) are reporting on his fiery speech to 800 NH Dems. > Pritzker called on Democrats to fight “everywhere and all at once,” against what he described as attacks from President Donald Trump on citizens’ constitutional rights. > > “Remember, Trump, just last week, arrested and deported three children under eight years old. U.S. citizens, all of them,” Pritzker said. “Preserving habeas corpus is not some fever dream of the left wing echo chamber. It’s a fundamental concept of justice that people have fought and died for dating back to the Middle Ages.” > > The crowd of more than 800 hundred people was all in, delivering repeated standing ovations and lingering after Pritzker stepped down from the stage for a chance to introduce themselves to him. > > “There’s our next president,” one man in the audience yelled over the chorus of applause. ---
**Author:** ![SlipperyPete](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ba9def/32.png) [@SlipperyPete](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SlipperyPete)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2025, 3:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/frontrunners-for-democratic-presidential-nomination-in-2028/1013036/499 "2025-04-28T15:31:27Z")
I really like Booker or Warnock. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2025, 7:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/frontrunners-for-democratic-presidential-nomination-in-2028/1013036/500 "2025-04-28T19:17:50Z")
Warnock is Okay, but Booker is in favor of gun confiscation. [https://www.nationalreview.com/news/cory-booker-assault-weapon-confiscation-demagogues-fear-mongering/](https://www.nationalreview.com/news/cory-booker-assault-weapon-confiscation-demagogues-fear-mongering/) _Booker said he supports the policy proposed by fellow presidential contender Beto O’Rouke, who made headlines during Thursday evening’s Democratic debate for pledging, “Hell yes, we’re going to take your AR-15, your AK-47.”_ _The former El Paso congressman supports a so-called “mandatory-buyback program” for AR-15 and AK-47 rifles, a move that goes further than the voluntary-buyback program other Democratic 2020 contenders, including former vice president Joe Biden and Senator Bernie Sanders, have endorsed._ That wont fly. Banning future sales might fly, but not confiscation. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/frontrunners-for-democratic-presidential-nomination-in-2028/1013036.md?page=24) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/frontrunners-for-democratic-presidential-nomination-in-2028/1013036.md?page=26)