# 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:** 36
**Author:** ![Snarky\_Kong](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a183cd/32.png) [@Snarky\_Kong](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snarky_Kong)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2025, 9:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/frontrunners-for-democratic-presidential-nomination-in-2028/1013036/701 "2025-06-26T21:34:49Z")
We’re here because of inflation. The dems massively overperformed incumbents everywhere else in the world. ---
**Author:** ![PhillyGuy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ed655f/32.png) [@PhillyGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PhillyGuy)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2025, 11:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/frontrunners-for-democratic-presidential-nomination-in-2028/1013036/702 "2025-06-26T23:51:00Z")
> [@Thing.Fish](#): > > I think Buttigieg is disqualified for being a Biden cabinet member. Every candidate for president has electoral weaknesses. So I do not say that any of them is absolutely disqualified. However, having been a Biden administration official is a significant electoral minus. Another unpopular group is [the U.S. Congress.](https://www.statista.com/statistics/207579/public-approval-rating-of-the-us-congress/) Disqualifying? No. My favorite is Senator Gallego. But everything equal, it would be better to nominate a governor. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2025, 1:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/frontrunners-for-democratic-presidential-nomination-in-2028/1013036/703 "2025-06-27T01:32:15Z")
> [@Thing.Fish](#): > > I think Buttigieg is disqualified for being a Biden cabinet member. I don’t want a candidate who constantly needs to field questions about whether he somehow failed to notice Biden’s cognitive decline Since there was no such decline, that is not a reason to disqualify him at all. > [@Snarky\_Kong](#): > > I think you people are wildly overestimating how much of a factor “did you know Biden was old?” is going to be. Yep. > [@Thing.Fish](#): > > Well, a whole lot of people obviously wildly _under_estimated that factor last election, and here we are. According to this, that was not part of why Harris lost- [https://www.cookpolitical.com/analysis/national/national-politics/comprehensive-new-data-analysis-why-harris-lost-2024](https://www.cookpolitical.com/analysis/national/national-politics/comprehensive-new-data-analysis-why-harris-lost-2024) > [@Snarky\_Kong](#): > > We’re here because of inflation. The dems massively overperformed incumbents everywhere else in the world. Yep, all exit polls said that. ---
**Author:** ![PhillyGuy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ed655f/32.png) [@PhillyGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PhillyGuy)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2025, 2:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/frontrunners-for-democratic-presidential-nomination-in-2028/1013036/704 "2025-06-27T02:20:18Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > Since there was no such decline, that is not a reason to disqualify him at all. Lots of voters agree with you, but lots wouldn’t, including many who sometimes vote Democratic. And being linked to the Biden administration is not only a political problem because of the possibility Biden often, by late 2023, couldn’t put in a long day of hard work. It is also a problem in that 2028 will likely be an election where the Democrats need to argue it is time for a change. This is a harder argument when the candidate is tied to a recent presidency. I’m not saying Pete shouldn’t run. Let’s see how he does in the primary season debates. Maybe he’ll so outshine the rest that ties to Biden will be small compared to issues cropping up with the other candidates. One thing we do not know: Will Joe Biden be spending 2028 in a federal lockup? If so, I presume it will be totally unfair. But, life being unfair, this would be a reason to avoid nominating Pete. Trump will want the election to be about the past. Democrats can refute this with a fresh face. ---
**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:** [June 27, 2025, 2:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/frontrunners-for-democratic-presidential-nomination-in-2028/1013036/705 "2025-06-27T02:28:49Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > According to this, that was not part of why Harris lost- tl;dr version: American voters reached the height of stupidity. ---
**Author:** ![DWMarch](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dwmarch/32/1010_2.png) [@DWMarch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DWMarch)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2025, 3:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/frontrunners-for-democratic-presidential-nomination-in-2028/1013036/706 "2025-06-27T03:01:45Z")
> [@PhillyGuy](#): > > Lots of voters agree with you, but lots wouldn’t, including many who sometimes vote Democratic. I guess it depends on the degree to which people want to continue to blame Biden for whatever is wrong in their lives at any given moment. Trump certainly takes advantage of this and has even said that when good things happen it’s because of Trump but bad things are exclusively Biden’s fault. He may get years of mileage out of that because his followers want it to be true but… > [@PhillyGuy](#): > > One thing we do not know: Will Joe Biden be spending 2028 in a federal lockup? Biden has prostate cancer that has spread to his bones. Even with the best medical care in the world, I don’t think he’ll be around in 2028. I’d be happy to be wrong but I wouldn’t count on it. But Trump will probably continue telling everyone that every bad thing that happens is Biden’s fault, long after Biden has departed the earthly realm. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2025, 3:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/frontrunners-for-democratic-presidential-nomination-in-2028/1013036/707 "2025-06-27T03:27:27Z")
> [@PhillyGuy](#): > > Lots of voters agree with you, but lots wouldn’t, including many who sometimes vote Democratic. The exit polls were clear- it was the GOPs lies on inflation that was the main reason by far. I dont know anyone who voted for senile fascist -wannabe trump as Biden did poorly in a debate. > [@PhillyGuy](#): > > One thing we do not know: Will Joe Biden be spending 2028 in a federal lockup? No. > [@Saint\_Cad](#): > > tl;dr version: American voters reached the height of stupidity. More or less- they believed trumps three big lies- also spread by the kremlin- 1. The economy is horrible and inflation is out of control! Lies. Biden inherited inflation from trump and covid. But every year, it got less, not to mention the GDP was way up, and unemployment was way down. By any sane marker the economy was solid by election 2024. . 2. Crime is out of control! more lies Crime was down. 3. The border is open and we are being invaded- more lies. > [@DWMarch](#): > > Biden has prostate cancer that has spread to his bones. Even with the best medical care in the world, I don’t think he’ll be around in 2028. Probably, maybe on his deathbed, but that’s about it. ---
**Author:** ![PhillyGuy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ed655f/32.png) [@PhillyGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PhillyGuy)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2025, 10:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/frontrunners-for-democratic-presidential-nomination-in-2028/1013036/708 "2025-06-27T10:57:08Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > The exit polls were clear- it was the GOPs lies on inflation that was the main reason by far. Here are all the exit poll results: > **[Exit poll results 2024 | CNN Politics](https://www.cnn.com/election/2024/exit-polls/national-results/general/president/0)** > > See all exit polls data for the 2024 US elections. For more information on voting and election results, visit cnn.com/election. I do not see a question about whether being part of the Biden administration was or was not one of the reasons they voted against Harris. Since I do not buy that voters know why they vote the way they do, I cannot prove my point. But here’s my guess: Swing voters open to voting for the Democratic ticket in 2028 have bad vibes about the Biden presidency, and also about both Trump presidencies. If offered a candidate not tied to either, they will be more likely to vote for that ticket. This will be just one factor of many I consider when deciding who to vote for in the 2028 Democratic presidential primary. If Buttigieg is the remaining strong candidate in the moderate lane, I may vote for him anyway. ---
**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:** [June 27, 2025, 1:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/frontrunners-for-democratic-presidential-nomination-in-2028/1013036/709 "2025-06-27T13:47:21Z")
Keep telling yourself that. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2025, 8:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/frontrunners-for-democratic-presidential-nomination-in-2028/1013036/710 "2025-06-27T20:48:13Z")
> [@PhillyGuy](#): > > I do not see a question about whether being part of the Biden administration was or was not one of the reasons they voted against Harris. Because clearly it wasnt considered a major issue. But look at some of the results- Condition of the nation’s economy- Dems 92% Excellent/good. trump voters- 70% poor. Opinion of Biden as president- Harris 98% strongly Approve. trump 94% strongly disapprove. I think that does answer your question of being part of Biden administration. **In past year, inflation has caused your family:** - Harris- no hardship 78%. trump- severe hardship 76%. Most important issues- Harris- abortion 76%, Democracy 80%. trump- Economy 81%, immigration 89%. Confident election being conducted fairly & accurately?- Harris 84% very Confident. trump 80% not at all confident. (Stolen election lies continue to be an issue). > [@Thing.Fish](#): > > Keep telling yourself that. Since it is the truth, I will tell others also. ---
**Author:** ![PhillyGuy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ed655f/32.png) [@PhillyGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PhillyGuy)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2025, 10:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/frontrunners-for-democratic-presidential-nomination-in-2028/1013036/711 "2025-06-27T22:07:29Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > Opinion of Biden as president- Harris 98% strongly Approve. trump 94% strongly disapprove. [I missed that](https://www.cnn.com/election/2024/exit-polls/national-results/general/president/0) line item. Thank you. But now that I am reading it, am I correct to interpret this way: Among Harris voters: Strongly approve Biden - 98% Somewhat approve Biden - 95% Somewhat disapprove Biden - 54% Strongly disapprove Biden - 4% Among all voters: Strongly approve Biden - 15% Somewhat approve Biden - 24% Somewhat disapprove Biden - 14% Strongly disapprove Biden - 45% If so, there is an error in the data concerning Harris voters. But the overall voter data is internally coherent and is consistent with Joe Biden pulling down the Harris ticket. > [@DrDeth](#): > > Most important issues- Harris- abortion 76%, Democracy 80%. trump- Economy 81%, immigration 89%. This seems to be a multiple choice question that didn’t measure whether whether voters found association with the Biden administration a turn off. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2025, 11:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/frontrunners-for-democratic-presidential-nomination-in-2028/1013036/712 "2025-06-27T23:17:04Z")
> [@PhillyGuy](#): > > This seems to be a multiple choice question that didn’t measure whether whether voters found association with the Biden administration a turn off. No, but it shows the two major issues for trump voters were the economy and immigration. ---
**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:** [July 29, 2025, 2:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/frontrunners-for-democratic-presidential-nomination-in-2028/1013036/713 "2025-07-29T02:23:15Z")
Roy Cooper, Democratic gov of N. Carolina is going to run for Senate. I see he was mentioned a few times in this thread back in January. He appeared briefly on Rachel Maddow’s show this evening. > **[Former Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper announces run for Senate in North Carolina](https://www.pbs.org/newshour/politics/former-democratic-gov-roy-cooper-announces-run-for-senate-in-north-carolina)** > > Former Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper will run for the U.S. Senate in North Carolina, giving Democrats a proven statewide winner in an open-seat race that is expected to be one of the most competitive 2026 contests. > Cooper’s candidacy is a big recruiting win for Democrats, who see the seat as a top pick-up opportunity in what will be a challenging year. To retake the majority in 2026, Democrats need to net four seats, and most of the contests are in states that Trump easily won last year. Trump won North Carolina by about 3 percentage points, one of his closest margins of victory. What do y’all think? He’s a white guy and, like it or not, in the real world that gives him an advantage over Black, gay, female candidates or any combo of those traits. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2025, 2:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/frontrunners-for-democratic-presidential-nomination-in-2028/1013036/714 "2025-07-29T02:29:38Z")
> [@ThelmaLou](#): > > He’s a white guy and, like it or not, in the real world that gives him an advantage over Black, gay, female candidates or any combo of those traits. The advantage is small among likely Dem voters.. But to be honest, the last few elections have been won or lost by rather small margins. He looks okay but I know little about his policies. ---
**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:** [July 29, 2025, 3:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/frontrunners-for-democratic-presidential-nomination-in-2028/1013036/715 "2025-07-29T15:33:04Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > The advantage is small among likely Dem voters.. What is your point? The Dems are obviously going to need more than just Dem voters to win. They have to appeal to as many voters as possible even the petty, nit-picky, narrow-minded ones. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2025, 8:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/frontrunners-for-democratic-presidential-nomination-in-2028/1013036/716 "2025-07-29T20:02:43Z")
Yesm which is why i said Dem voters, not Dem party members. Liberal centrist Indys often vote Dem, but not many are bigots. However, there is likely just enough voters in that group who might stay home instead of voting for a Gay person, etc. ---
**Author:** ![PhillyGuy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ed655f/32.png) [@PhillyGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PhillyGuy)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2025, 11:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/frontrunners-for-democratic-presidential-nomination-in-2028/1013036/717 "2025-07-29T23:51:32Z")
> [@ThelmaLou](#): > > What do y’all think? He’s a white guy and, like it or not, in the real world that gives him an advantage over Black, gay, female candidates or any combo of those traits. Current Secretary of State Elaine Marshall has shown that a female Democrat can win statewide races in North Carolina. I leave it to others to check if a Black candidate has ever won statewide. By my count, Cooper has run statewide six times – four times for Attorney General and twice for Governor. He won every time.I did not check every race, but he generally outpolled other Democrats running statewide with him. In 2012, he was unopposed. In 2020, Cooper won NC while Biden lost the state. I attribute this to Cooper being a moderate who can, as Carville would say, put together a sentence. North Carolina is a center-right state. If progressives want to attack Cooper for being too far right, fine. Maybe that will help him. ---
**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:** [July 29, 2025, 11:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/frontrunners-for-democratic-presidential-nomination-in-2028/1013036/718 "2025-07-29T23:55:35Z")
Not sure where he fits on the moderate/progressive spectrum, but my friends in NC say he has done a very good job standing up to the MAGA loonies there. ---
**Author:** ![E-DUB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/e-dub/32/403_2.png) [@E-DUB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/E-DUB)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2025, 12:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/frontrunners-for-democratic-presidential-nomination-in-2028/1013036/719 "2025-07-30T00:37:39Z")
Six elections since 1968 have proven that there are enough voters to elect a Democrat. The problem is that you have to get damn near all of them. Tack to the center, you lose the left to the couch or third parties. Tack to the left or even be seen as doing so, you lose the center to the Republicans. Heck, you can do almost everything right and still lose, if you just lose a sliver of each, as was the case with Harris who lost (some of) the left over Biden’s Gaza policy and some of the center because of endlessly-looped trans ads. The only way to get all of them is following a disastrous Republican administration, Carter following Nixon/Ford, Clinton following daddy Bush, Obama following Bush the lesser, and Biden following trump 1. Now, assuming that free and fair elections are still a thing in 2028, I still don’t know who the Dems should run, all candidates have their strengths and weaknesses, both actual and, in the case of the latter, to be manufactured. I don’t know if the country is ready to elect a woman, a gay person, an African-American whose name isn’t Obama, but why take the chance. I say nominate two straight male WASPs (which hasn’t been done since 1996, after all) and make it up with the appointments we wouldn’t be able to make if we lose again. ---
**Author:** ![asterion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/4da419/32.png) [@asterion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/asterion)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2025, 9:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/frontrunners-for-democratic-presidential-nomination-in-2028/1013036/720 "2025-07-30T21:01:04Z")
Well, Harris isn’t running for CA gov, so now the question is is she going to make another run in 2028? I don’t see how she’ll do any better than she did in 2019. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/frontrunners-for-democratic-presidential-nomination-in-2028/1013036.md?page=35) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/frontrunners-for-democratic-presidential-nomination-in-2028/1013036.md?page=37)