# 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:** 31
**Author:** ![echoreply](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/echoreply/32/3641_2.png) [@echoreply](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/echoreply)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2025, 6:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/frontrunners-for-democratic-presidential-nomination-in-2028/1013036/601 "2025-05-27T18:10:19Z")
> [@kenobi\_65](#): > > she has a partner, a journalist and businessman named Ben Collins. Collins previously worked for the Daily Beast and MSNBC, and is currently the CEO of Global Tetrahedron, the parent company of _The Onion_, and which recently attempted to purchase _InfoWars_ Ben “Tim Onion” Collins is the CEO and part owner of The Onion, but the money to buy it came from Jeff Lawson, a left leaning tech billionaire. So yes, Collins is currently employed, and in the past worked as a journalist, not exactly a field one enters to get rich, and as far as I know is not wealthy. So she has a partner who is currently earning a salary, but like most Americans, that doesn’t mean she has any money in the bank, or any assets of value. I’m unfamiliar with her politics, but in general I’m in favor of anything that puts The Onion closer to the seats of power. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2025, 6:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/frontrunners-for-democratic-presidential-nomination-in-2028/1013036/602 "2025-05-27T18:15:49Z")
> [@echoreply](#): > > So she has a partner who is currently earning a salary, but like most Americans, that doesn’t mean she has any money in the bank, or any assets of value. I just think it’s maybe a tiny bit misleading for her to present herself as “my net worth amounts to my laptop, and I have no health insurance,” which may be technically true, but incomplete information, given her household situation. ---
**Author:** ![Airbeck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/airbeck/32/6574_2.png) [@Airbeck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Airbeck)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2025, 6:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/frontrunners-for-democratic-presidential-nomination-in-2028/1013036/603 "2025-05-27T18:26:28Z")
“my net worth” is a statement about her, not about her partner though. She didn’t say “our”. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2025, 6:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/frontrunners-for-democratic-presidential-nomination-in-2028/1013036/604 "2025-05-27T18:31:25Z")
You are exactly correct. What she said was – as I noted – **technically true** , but she’s omitting the fact that she shares a household with a partner who very likely _does_ have a good income and some net worth. Again, technically true, but she’s trying to present herself as someone who is currently living with modest means, undoubtedly as an attempt to get voters in similar financial situations to identify with her – and what she’s saying may well be misleading as far as her actual financial situation. ---
**Author:** ![Airbeck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/airbeck/32/6574_2.png) [@Airbeck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Airbeck)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2025, 6:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/frontrunners-for-democratic-presidential-nomination-in-2028/1013036/605 "2025-05-27T18:33:45Z")
“may well be” so we are just creating smears for MAGA then? ---
**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:** [May 27, 2025, 6:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/frontrunners-for-democratic-presidential-nomination-in-2028/1013036/606 "2025-05-27T18:34:15Z")
It saddens me that the Onion apparently doesn’t provide health insurance for domestic partners. ---
**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:** [May 27, 2025, 6:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/frontrunners-for-democratic-presidential-nomination-in-2028/1013036/607 "2025-05-27T18:34:54Z")
Anyway, this isn’t the “Frontrunners for the Ninth District of Illinois Congressional Nomination” thread… ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2025, 6:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/frontrunners-for-democratic-presidential-nomination-in-2028/1013036/608 "2025-05-27T18:37:42Z")
> [@Airbeck](#): > > “may well be” so we are just creating smears for MAGA then? Get off it. I’m a fucking liberal; I’m not comfortable with _any_ candidate misrepresenting themselves, and it bothers me even more when a Democrat does it. And, honestly, if a liberal who is sympathetic to her political positions is easily seeing this, it’s not rocket science for MAGA to do so. The 9th is a safely Democratic seat, anyway. ---
**Author:** ![Airbeck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/airbeck/32/6574_2.png) [@Airbeck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Airbeck)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2025, 6:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/frontrunners-for-democratic-presidential-nomination-in-2028/1013036/609 "2025-05-27T18:39:30Z")
Well I think you are way overreacting to what she said. We keep trying the purity test thing and it never works for us. We cut our own throats with it actually. We have no idea what her household financial situation is. To engage in speculation and criticism about something we do not know seems unfair and unwise. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2025, 6:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/frontrunners-for-democratic-presidential-nomination-in-2028/1013036/610 "2025-05-27T18:43:11Z")
> [@Airbeck](#): > > Well I think you are way overreacting to what she said. We keep trying the purity test thing and it never works for us. I’m not talking about a purity test. She’s representing herself as something that it appears may not be the full story. I’m not saying that her domestic partner is a millionaire, but her statements try to present herself as someone who’s living very modest means, and says nothing about having a partner. ---
**Author:** ![Airbeck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/airbeck/32/6574_2.png) [@Airbeck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Airbeck)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2025, 6:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/frontrunners-for-democratic-presidential-nomination-in-2028/1013036/611 "2025-05-27T18:44:21Z")
But that’s just it, you don’t know what means she is living in. You have no actual facts to tell you anything about her means. It’s 100% unfair speculation. Many couples have separate finances, and even if they didn’t you don’t know his salary, or whether he has debts etc. ETA: This is clearly a hijack at this point, my apologies for contributing. I won’t comment about this aside anymore. ---
**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:** [May 27, 2025, 7:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/frontrunners-for-democratic-presidential-nomination-in-2028/1013036/612 "2025-05-27T19:19:01Z")
Surely someone has already linked this article, right? [https://thehill.com/homenews/campaign/5256736-2028-democratic-contenders-rankings/](https://thehill.com/homenews/campaign/5256736-2028-democratic-contenders-rankings/) (The Hill’s list of the top 10 contenders) I’m starting to think it might just be AOC. Nominating her would make a crystal clear statement that the Party is moving on from the Biden era. There are some obvious potential liabilities, but right now she’s the most popular Democrat who hasn’t already lost a Presidential race, so I’m not going to write her off prematurely. I’d prefer a more experienced candidate, but she’s spent more time in Congress than Obama did already, and has been quite high-profile for her entire career. Shapiro – too pro-Netanyahu. Whitmer might be our best bet. She’s not polarizing and she has a record of winning in swing states. The same might be said of Tim Walz. Newsom – kind of slimy, hard to see him resonating with working class Midwesterners. Wes Moore – I didn’t know much about this guy. He’s a 46 year old decorated veteran and Rhodes scholar who became Maryland’s first Black governor in 2022. He writes YA fiction and was married by an Elvis impersonator. Also he’s apparently very close to Oprah, which potentially makes him a serious candidate all by itself. Doesn’t seem to have taken any prominent positions on national issues, which could be an advantage. Harris – Thank you for your service. Pritzker – I like the guy but nominating billionaires shouldn’t be our brand. Buttigieg – I dunno, I hear he might be gay. Doesn’t excite me. I know a lot of people like him, but four years as Secretary of Transportation still doesn’t make a small town mayor qualified IMO. Rahm Emanuel – oh fuck right off. Stephen A. Smith – OK, this article is stupid. No way this bloviating sports dude deserves to be taken more seriously than the likes of Walz, Beshear, Ossoff, Warnock, or really any Democratic officeholder. Hell, I’d much prefer LeBron James. (I mention him because he has a running feud with Smith…although actually, if we want a celebrity with no political experience, we could do a hell of a lot worse. But I hope we don’t.) ---
**Author:** ![asterion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/4da419/32.png) [@asterion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/asterion)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2025, 8:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/frontrunners-for-democratic-presidential-nomination-in-2028/1013036/613 "2025-05-27T20:13:05Z")
If you want a bloviating blowhard from ESPN, I think Olbermann isn’t doing anything these days. ---
**Author:** ![PhillyGuy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ed655f/32.png) [@PhillyGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PhillyGuy)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2025, 8:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/frontrunners-for-democratic-presidential-nomination-in-2028/1013036/614 "2025-05-27T20:14:14Z")
> [@Thing.Fish](#): > > Shapiro – too pro-Netanyahu. > [@](#): > > “I personally believe Benjamin Netanyahu is one of the worst leaders of all time” – [Josh Shapiro, January 2024](https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/opinion/who-s-afraid-of-josh-shapiro/ar-BB1qWRtu) ---
**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:** [May 27, 2025, 9:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/frontrunners-for-democratic-presidential-nomination-in-2028/1013036/615 "2025-05-27T21:34:26Z")
Here is a fairly nuanced article explaining why some have concerns. Succinctly, he has been perceived as slandering and unfairly restricting the rights of pro-Palestinian protesters on Pennsylvania campuses. He was vocal in calling on the President of Penn to resign over this issue, while most other Democrats identified such calls as MAGA talking points. He issued a vaguely worded executive order that seemed designed to have a chilling effect on the free speech rights of State employees. He has been (appropriately) quite quick to condemn anti-Semitic hate crimes in Pennsylvania, but much more reticent to condemn Islamophobic ones. > **[Shapiro’s position on Gaza tests close bonds with Arab, Muslim community](https://forward.com/news/638442/josh-shapiro-israel-palestine-antisemitism-arab-muslim/)** > > Gov. Josh Shapiro cultivated unprecedented ties with an overlooked demographic in Pennsylvania. Now some feel 'betrayed' over Gaza. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2025, 9:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/frontrunners-for-democratic-presidential-nomination-in-2028/1013036/616 "2025-05-27T21:36:02Z")
> [@DWMarch](#): > > I don’t know if we’ve met the 2028 candidate yet. I like AOC and I hope it’s her but she is divisive. The old white guys of the Democrats aren’t exciting. It has to be a new candidate, young and energizing. Someone who you want to pay attention to anytime they are on TV, like Obama. Obama was 50- “young” means “inexperienced” like AOC is. What is better is a some 50 yo person, maybe 60 tops. > [@DWMarch](#): > > On preview: I keep seeing experience listed as a crucial component. Hillary Clinton had experience. Harris had experience. Trump had none and after four years of mismanaging the US I’d say he still doesn’t have any. Why is experience so highly valued for Democrats but worthless for Republicans? Because Bigots and morons dont care about experience- they care about pie in the sky promises- which of course turn out to be lies. The MAGA are - as a %- less educated than the Dems- > **[3. Demographic profiles of Republican and Democratic voters](https://www.pewresearch.org/politics/2023/07/12/demographic-profiles-of-republican-and-democratic-voters/)** > > American Trends Panel: Pew Research Center’s online probability survey panel, which consists of more than 12,000 adults who take two to three surveys each .._.Democratic Party’s voters in 2022 (51% held college degrees while 49% did not).,By contrast, a majority of Republican voters in 2022 had no college degree (63%); a smaller share had a college degree or more (37%). …White voters without college degrees made up a majority (54%) of Republican voters in 2022, compared with 27% of Democratic voters._ It is so much easier for a Right Wing Populist to lie to people who arent educated. The Dems cant just lie their asses off- they need to show something solid- like experience- not promises but what they have already done. > [@DWMarch](#): > > Disregard experience, give me Kat Abughazaleh: We do not KNOW her positions, we only can hear what she has _claimed_. However, we could see what Hillary, and Harris had done. trump talked a good game back in 2016, many thought he;d be a moderate. I aint voting for any dark horse that just _talks_ a good game, I want someone who has walked a good game. > [@filmore](#): > > The Republicans will call the candidate things like “Another Biden bozo” and “One of Biden’s corrupt cronies”. The MAGAs and the Kremlin will make up lies and propaganda about anyone that runs. > [@Thing.Fish](#): > > Shapiro – too pro-Netanyahu. > > Whitmer might be our best bet. She’s not polarizing and she has a record of winning in swing states. The same might be said of Tim Walz. > > Newsom – kind of slimy, hard to see him resonating with working class Midwesterners. The whole Gaza thing will no longer be a big issue in 2028. Whitment and Walz are solid candidates. Newsom is not 'slimy"- he just has had to put up with over a decade of right wing maga attacks. ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2025, 11:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/frontrunners-for-democratic-presidential-nomination-in-2028/1013036/617 "2025-05-27T23:26:20Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > The whole Gaza thing will no longer be a big issue in 2028. And hopefully, Netanyahu himself will be history by then anyway - Israeli general elections are in October 2026, which in theory is before the 2028 campaign starts in earnest. God willing, Bibi will no longer be the political boogeyman he is now. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2025, 2:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/frontrunners-for-democratic-presidential-nomination-in-2028/1013036/618 "2025-05-28T02:09:51Z")
> [@Alessan](#): > > And hopefully, Netanyahu himself will be history by then anyway - Israeli general elections are in October 2026, “From your lips to G-ds Ears.” ---
**Author:** ![Tamerlane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tamerlane/32/7602_2.png) [@Tamerlane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tamerlane)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2025, 3:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/frontrunners-for-democratic-presidential-nomination-in-2028/1013036/619 "2025-05-28T03:58:49Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > Newsom is not 'slimy"- he just has had to put up with over a decade of right wing maga attacks. Dude had an affair with his best friend’s wife. He’s absolutely slimy. On a personal level. He’d probably make a pretty good president, though. I just don’t think he is more likely to win. ---
**Author:** ![Aeschines](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aeschines/32/16251_2.png) [@Aeschines](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aeschines)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2025, 10:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/frontrunners-for-democratic-presidential-nomination-in-2028/1013036/620 "2025-05-30T22:52:14Z")
> [@Tamerlane](#): > > Dude had an affair with his best friend’s wife. He’s absolutely slimy. On a personal level. Plus greasy Gordon Gekko hair. I don’t love him, but I’d vote for him over any fascist. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/frontrunners-for-democratic-presidential-nomination-in-2028/1013036.md?page=30) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/frontrunners-for-democratic-presidential-nomination-in-2028/1013036.md?page=32)