# 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:** 95
**Author:** ![filmore](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/7993a0/32.png) [@filmore](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/filmore)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2026, 3:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/frontrunners-for-democratic-presidential-nomination-in-2028/1013036/1882 "2026-05-08T15:13:02Z")
Experience is important, but it’s not the attribute which brings the win for the presidential candidates. Many people want the President to be someone who projects a certain image and gives the impression they can get stuff done. The President needs to be someone who can convince other people to go along with their vision in a way that’s unique to that position. Years of political and government experience doesn’t necessarily give people that kind of ability. As an analogy, consider how an actor is picked for a part in a movie. Lots of people are very accomplished actors, but not every accomplished actor will bring a role to life in the same way. If they’re casting someone to be Superman, the movie will be much more successful with someone like Henry Cavill rather than Ian McKellen. But if they’re casting someone to be a Gandolf, the movie will be more successful with McKellen in the role than Cavill. Both roles need an experienced actor, but casting the role by just looking at just how experienced they are as an actor and picking the one with the most experience will not lead to a successful movie. ---
**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 8, 2026, 3:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/frontrunners-for-democratic-presidential-nomination-in-2028/1013036/1883 "2026-05-08T15:59:27Z")
> [@Ranger\_Jeff](#): > > How about Pritzker, the current governor of Illinois? He’s been mentioned a number of times in the thread. My take, as an Illinois resident, and liberal: Pros: - He handled the state’s COVID response very well. - He’s clearly very intelligent and a good speaker. - He’s consistently championed important liberal causes, including abortion, LGBTQ rights, immigrant rights and opposing ICE activities in the state. - He has managed to get under Trump’s skin, while not resorting to overt parody as Newsom has. - He won re-election once, and is likely to be re-elected easily to a third term this fall: he’s running against the same guy (Darren Bailey) whom he beat handily in 2022. Assuming he gets re-elected, he’ll have held the office for 10 years in 2028. - He was very successful in the business world before turning to politics. - Though he never held office before becoming governor, he did work in Washington, on the staffs of several Democratic legislators, during the 1980s, and has been involved in Democratic politics throughout his adult life. Cons: - Illinois has been losing population for the last decade, in part due to the cost of living here: in the last 10 years, the state’s population has declined by nearly 2% (though that apparently turned around, a little bit, in 2025). - The state’s economy has been doing all right, but arguably not great. Unemployment is around 5% right now, which is above the national numbers. - He _is_ a billionaire, and arguably a nepo-baby in that regard (his family’s money came from the Hyatt hotel business). - He’s Jewish, and in the past, was a financial supporter of AIPAC (though he cut off his support of it years ago). Please note that I’m not saying that him being Jewish is a con, in and of itself, but it opens him up to particular criticisms, especially as a Democrat, in regards to Israel and Palestine. - He is, frankly, a big burly guy, which may turn off people who are more interested in image. - He clearly did play favorites earlier this year, during the Democratic primary race to fill retiring Senator Dick Durbin’s seat: he endorsed his lieutenant governor, Juliana Stratton, and gave millions of dollars to a super PAC which supported her. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2026, 6:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/frontrunners-for-democratic-presidential-nomination-in-2028/1013036/1884 "2026-05-08T18:11:31Z")
As it happens, _Time_ magazine has an interesting profile of Pritzker in its latest issue. I learned a lot, and like him more now, although I still lean towards Gov. Andy Beshear of Kentucky. > **[JB Pritzker May Be Running for More Than Governor](https://time.com/article/2026/04/28/jb-pritzker-trump-presidency-2028/)** > > The Illinois Democrat takes aim at a third term, Trump, and perhaps the presidency ---
**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 8, 2026, 8:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/frontrunners-for-democratic-presidential-nomination-in-2028/1013036/1885 "2026-05-08T20:31:07Z")
I’m reluctant to link to X accounts, but if you haven’t seen [Nomadic Warriors for Pritzker](https://x.com/Nomads4Pritzker), it’s good for a few laughs. ---
**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 8, 2026, 8:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/frontrunners-for-democratic-presidential-nomination-in-2028/1013036/1886 "2026-05-08T20:53:37Z")
OK, so on the top of the parody X account I just linked to I found a link to [a very serious and persuasive article about Pritzker.](https://newrepublic.com/article/207310/democrats-new-israel-policy-pritzker-newsom) TLDR: Pritzker is not just a Jew, he is a scion of a rich and famous Illinois Jewish family whose name is all over hospitals and foundations in the Chicago area. He was instrumental in establishing the world-renowned Illinois Holocaust Museum. He is a former AIPAC board member. IOW, no one can possibly accuse him of being antisemitic, and therefore he is the one who can lead the Democrats in our morally and politically necessary transition away from an “unconditional support for Israel” policy, a role he appears prepared to take on. > (O)n a recent episode of the popular [I’ve Had It](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JS38IfaXUAo) podcast, (Pritzker said) that as a Jew committed to upholding the values of social justice and people’s freedom, “I have to apply that equally to the state of Israel as I do to other countries that have committed atrocities.” From being an “unequivocal” supporter of Israel in the immediate aftermath of October 7, he has taken a much more skeptical view. (Jon Ossoff is also a Jew who has been highly critical of Israel, ftr) ---
**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 8, 2026, 9:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/frontrunners-for-democratic-presidential-nomination-in-2028/1013036/1887 "2026-05-08T21:02:59Z")
> [@Thing.Fish](#): > > He is a former AIPAC board member. Pritzker says that he was not. According to his [Wikipedia article](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/JB_Pritzker#Israel_and_Palestine): > [@](#): > > In August 2024, The Times of Israel reported that Pritzker previously served on the national board of the pro-Israel lobby group AIPAC. In March 2026, Pritzker clarified to The New York Times that while he had donated to AIPAC, he had not served on its board. In 2026, he was described as a “former supporter” of the group and his spokesperson said he had not donated to AIPAC in a decade and believed the group had “abandoned its bipartisan principles and become a pro-Trump organization”. ---
**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 8, 2026, 9:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/frontrunners-for-democratic-presidential-nomination-in-2028/1013036/1888 "2026-05-08T21:10:00Z")
Thanks for the clarification. The point still stands though, he used to support the organization _before_ it went completely crazy, which gives him capital to criticize it now. ---
**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 8, 2026, 9:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/frontrunners-for-democratic-presidential-nomination-in-2028/1013036/1889 "2026-05-08T21:13:53Z")
> [@Thing.Fish](#): > > Thanks for the clarification. You are welcome! Good post, by the way. ---
**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 8, 2026, 9:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/frontrunners-for-democratic-presidential-nomination-in-2028/1013036/1890 "2026-05-08T21:15:05Z")
> [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](#): > > Well, look: if Trump gets unpopular enough (which maybe isn’t that unlikely, given his current level of unpopularity) and dies in office (which also maybe isn’t that unlikely, given his health and his age), then: what positions would Vance propound? We have absolutely no idea. His whole public career has consisted entirely of saying whatever helps him suck up to power; who knows what he would do if there was nobody above him he needed to please? It’s possible he would turn into Mitt Romney, but he might just as well declare himself to be the legitimate Pope and marry a horse. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2026, 4:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/frontrunners-for-democratic-presidential-nomination-in-2028/1013036/1891 "2026-05-09T04:44:05Z")
The Equine American community is already bracing itself. ---
**Author:** ![DSeid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dseid/32/20194_2.png) [@DSeid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DSeid)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2026, 2:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/frontrunners-for-democratic-presidential-nomination-in-2028/1013036/1892 "2026-05-09T14:18:41Z")
I had pretty much dismissed any Jewish candidates as contenders right now, given the rise of antisemitism in general, anti Israel/AIPAC in particular, and the conflation so many have of Jewish and Israel. You really make me rethink that point of view. A strong track record of criticizing Israel’s actions from a candidate who is an identified member of the American Jewish community neutralizes some of that, including the coded antisemitic attacks masked as anti-Zionist. And the portrayal of any positions that are very critical of Israel as antisemitic. True coded (and explicit in some camps) antisemitism will be part of the campaigning as minimally the aftermath of this war will still be in progress, and baseless accusations of the same will be too. No matter who runs. I do think that the proven ability to get things done (experience) is less important this round in particular than hitting a balance of “change agent” while not scaring old guard centrists _too_ much. As a left of center liberal I suspect someone more progressive than my personal taste will be a best candidate this time. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2026, 3:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/frontrunners-for-democratic-presidential-nomination-in-2028/1013036/1893 "2026-05-09T15:28:39Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > Maybe- Vance did campaign once on how bad trump was, then quickly changed his mind.. or did he? No, he said that Trump was America’s Hitler. He never said that he considered that to be a bad thing. > [@kenobi\_65](#): > > He clearly did play favorites earlier this year, during the Democratic primary race to fill retiring Senator Dick Durbin’s seat: he endorsed his lieutenant governor, Juliana Stratton, and gave millions of dollars to a super PAC which supported her. I’ll never understand why people think this is a bad thing. He’s a politician. Of course he’s going to endorse other politicians he likes for various positions. One can certainly consider it a black mark which politicians any particular politician endorses, but not just that they’re endorsing people. > [@Thing.Fish](#): > > IOW, no one can possibly accuse him of being antisemitic No one can sanely accuse him of that. The Republicans will anyway. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2026, 6:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/frontrunners-for-democratic-presidential-nomination-in-2028/1013036/1894 "2026-05-09T18:09:28Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > No, he said that Trump was America’s Hitler. He never said that he considered that to be a bad thing. > **[How Trump’s potential running mates harshly criticized him in the past](https://www.pbs.org/newshour/politics/how-trumps-potential-running-mates-harshly-criticized-him-in-the-past)** > > JD Vance’s shifting position on Donald Trump over the years from one-time critic of the former president to staunch ally is a metamorphosis shared by many of Trump’s potential running mates. > In a 2016 interview with Charlie Rose while promoting his book “Hillbilly Elegy,” Vance called himself “a Never Trump guy” and said of the soon-to-be-president, “I never liked him.” > > He told NPR that year, “I can’t stomach Trump.” He wrote an op-ed for The New York Times titled: “Mr. Trump Is Unfit For Our Nation’s Highest Office.” > > Vance said he didn’t vote for Trump in 2016 and his former roommate shared images of a text message Vance sent him that year in which he called Trump “cynical” and said he could be “America’s Hitler.” ---
**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:** [May 9, 2026, 7:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/frontrunners-for-democratic-presidential-nomination-in-2028/1013036/1895 "2026-05-09T19:43:37Z")
AOC, in an interview with David Axelrod, does nothing to tamp down 2028 rumors. Says her ultimate goal is to change the country. [https://thehill.com/homenews/campaign/5870909-ocasio-cortez-2028-speculation/](https://thehill.com/homenews/campaign/5870909-ocasio-cortez-2028-speculation/) Personally, I like the sound of Pritzker-AOC. Or Warnock-AOC. ---
**Author:** ![JRDelirious](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jrdelirious/32/9531_2.png) [@JRDelirious](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JRDelirious)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2026, 9:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/frontrunners-for-democratic-presidential-nomination-in-2028/1013036/1896 "2026-05-09T21:30:04Z")
> [@Happy\_Lendervedder](#): > > I like the sound of Pritzker-AOC. Or Warnock-AOC The big AOC fans may have their reservations about taking the #2 position, given how that tends to work out historically speaking. ---
**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:** [May 9, 2026, 10:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/frontrunners-for-democratic-presidential-nomination-in-2028/1013036/1897 "2026-05-09T22:28:48Z")
That’s a good point, her talents and potential would probably be wasted on the vice presidency. ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2026, 10:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/frontrunners-for-democratic-presidential-nomination-in-2028/1013036/1898 "2026-05-09T22:53:40Z")
I, for one, would prefer to see her in the senate. Isn’t it early for presidential “front runner” to mean anything? When did Obama become a front runner in the race he won ---
**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 9, 2026, 11:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/frontrunners-for-democratic-presidential-nomination-in-2028/1013036/1899 "2026-05-09T23:22:49Z")
> [@puzzlegal](#): > > Isn’t it early for presidential “front runner” to mean anything? When did Obama become a front runner in the race he won It really is _far_ too early, still, but that doesn’t prevent speculation and debate. In 2007/2008, Hillary Clinton was consistently the front-runner in opinion polls, by a wide margin, until the end of 2007, when Obama started getting serious attention, at least in part due to the support of Oprah Winfrey. Obama then swept the four January primaries and caucuses, and passed Clinton in the opinion polls (HRC is the dark yellow line, Obama the purple line, and John Edwards the orange line): [![](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/ab/2008_Democratic_primaries_polling.png) ](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/ab/2008_Democratic_primaries_polling.png) (FWIW, Bill Clinton followed a similar trajectory in 1992, not emerging as the front-runner until January of '92.) ---
**Author:** ![Moriarty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/moriarty/32/49_2.png) [@Moriarty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Moriarty)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2026, 11:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/frontrunners-for-democratic-presidential-nomination-in-2028/1013036/1900 "2026-05-09T23:37:30Z")
> [@puzzlegal](#): > > I, for one, would prefer to see her [AOC] in the senate Nah…Speaker of the House. I’m warming on Pritzker. He may come from a very privileged background, but his father died when he was 7, as did a sister Nancy (to suicide) and he lost his mom, an alcoholic who died by jumping from a moving vehicle, when he was 17. > **[A woman who inexplicably jumped to her death from... - UPI Archives](https://www.upi.com/amp/Archives/1982/05/07/A-woman-who-inexplicably-jumped-to-her-death-from/3440389592000/)** > > A woman who inexplicably jumped to her death from the cab of a tow truck pulling her disabled car has been identified a socialite Sue Pritzker, widow of... I don’t wish tragedy on people, but it often instills a deep sense of empathy that we want in our leaders. > **[Billionaire John Pritzker And Lisa Stone Pritzker Donating Nearly $60 Million...](https://www.forbes.com/sites/kerryadolan/2021/05/10/billionaire-john-pritzker-donating-nearly-60-million-for-mental-health-at-uc-san-francisco/)** > > One big hurdle to treating mental health issues is the reluctance across much of society to talk about them—whether it’s eating disorders or schizophrenia or any other mental illness. > **[UCSF Nancy Friend Pritzker Psychiatry Building opens to patients](https://psych.ucsf.edu/news/ucsf-nancy-friend-pritzker-psychiatry-building-opens-patients)** > > UC San Francisco is welcoming its first patients to the Nancy Friend Pritzker Psychiatry Building, a one-of-a-kind treatment center that aims to redefine mental health services and make a bold statement against stigma. Situated adjacent to UCSF’s... ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2026, 11:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/frontrunners-for-democratic-presidential-nomination-in-2028/1013036/1901 "2026-05-09T23:56:46Z")
> [@puzzlegal](#): > > I, for one, would prefer to see her in the senate. > > Isn’t it early for presidential “front runner” to mean anything? It is mostly name recognition, which is why Harris is quite a bit out front. But name recognition and doing well in early polls can mean more donations. Obama was quite an outlier. Most other winning candidates had good name recognition years before. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/frontrunners-for-democratic-presidential-nomination-in-2028/1013036.md?page=94) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/frontrunners-for-democratic-presidential-nomination-in-2028/1013036.md?page=96)