Primary schedule NBC News has reported that multiple DNC members are looking into changing the order of state primaries for the Democratic nomination. Chair of the
Nebraska Democratic Party Jane Kleeb stated in November 2024 that "The 2024 calendar will absolutely not be the calendar for 2028." The DNC chose
South Carolina to be the first primary in 2024. In December 2024,
Ray Buckley, chairman of the
New Hampshire Democratic Party, announced his intention to work towards restoring
New Hampshire's status as the first-in-the-nation Democratic presidential primary for the 2028 presidential nominating calendar. Democrats in
Nevada have started a bid to hold the first-in-the-nation primary in 2028. In 2023, the Democratic National Committee voted to strip
Iowa of its
first-in-the-nation presidential caucuses. In November 2024, after the presidential election, Scott Brennan, the only Iowan on the DNC Rules and Bylaws Committee at the time, said he still plans to fight for the return of the first-in-the-nation presidential caucus spot back to Iowa. In June 2025, Iowa's only seat on the DNC's Rules and Bylaws Committee, which determines the order of states in the presidential nominating process, was removed, and New Hampshire was awarded a second seat on the committee.
Ken Martin, the chair of the Democratic National Committee, said in an August 2025
NewsNation interview that the Rules and Bylaws Committee would discuss the 2028 primary calendar in a Minneapolis meeting later in the month. Martin and other party officials, including Representative
Jamie Raskin of
Maryland, have discussed the possibility of using
ranked-choice voting in the 2028 Democratic presidential primaries. Supporters argue that the system could reduce "wasted votes" and that it would encourage more positive campaigning. Sources such as
Alaska Beacon indicated that with
plurality voting, which is how most states currently conduct primaries, it is possible to win an election without majority support and that the ranked-choice voting alternative performed much better. After
Zohran Mamdani won the
2025 New York City Democratic mayoral primary, progressive voters have proposed that ranked-choice voting could be implemented.
Candidates Expressed interest Andy Beshear Andy Beshear has served as the 63rd
governor of Kentucky since 2019. He was also considered a potential running mate for Kamala Harris during the 2024 presidential election. In an October 2025 interview with
NPR, he mentioned the possibility of running for president in 2028, and during a visit to
New Hampshire later that month, he said he would "consider" a run. In December 2025, CBS News reported that Beshear's new role as chair of the
Democratic Governors Association was raising his national profile; Beshear said Democratic governors "produce tangible results that you can see and touch and feel". In a January 2026 profile in
Politico, Beshear argued that his status as "a guy who has won three straight statewide elections in a Trump plus-30 state" made him the most electable candidate for Democrats. While announcing his new book in February 2026, Beshear again left open the possibility of a presidential run, saying, "While I haven't made any decision about 2028, what I have committed to is not leaving a broken country to my kids or to anybody else's."
Cory Booker Cory Booker has served as a U.S. senator from
New Jersey since 2013 and ran for the Democratic presidential nomination in
2020. He previously served as mayor of
Newark, New Jersey from 2006 to 2013. On April 1, 2025,
Booker broke the record for the longest Senate floor speech in protest against Donald Trump and
Elon Musk, which GOP pollster
Frank Luntz remarked positioned him as a party leader in the coming future. He has been considered a presidential candidate by
The Birmingham News. In November 2025, during a visit to New Hampshire, Booker told
Fox News, "Of course I'm thinking about it, I haven't ruled it out." with respect to a 2028 campaign, while saying he was focused on his re-election campaign in
2026. He stated in a March 2026 interview that he was not ruling out a run.
Pete Buttigieg Pete Buttigieg served as the
United States Secretary of Transportation from 2021 to 2025. Prior to becoming Secretary of Transportation, he served as mayor of
South Bend, Indiana, from 2012 to 2020. Buttigieg was thrust into the national spotlight with his
2020 presidential campaign, where he narrowly won the
Iowa caucus and finished a close second in the
New Hampshire primary, but ultimately dropped out after a poor performance in
South Carolina. Buttigieg was also a contender to be Vice President Kamala Harris' running mate after she secured the Democratic nomination for president. If nominated, Buttigieg would be the first openly LGBT individual to receive the nomination of a major party in the United States. It was later reported that Buttigieg was leading polls in New Hampshire in October 2025. In February 2026, a
University of New Hampshire Granite State Poll again found Buttigieg leading the prospective Democratic field in New Hampshire. Asked during a February 2026 visit to New Hampshire whether he would run for president in 2028, Buttigieg replied that it was "a long way from any kind of decision like that."
Rahm Emanuel Rahm Emanuel most recently served as
United States ambassador to Japan from 2022 to 2025. He represented
Illinois in the
United States House of Representatives for three terms from 2003 to 2009. He was the
White House Chief of Staff from 2009 to 2010 under President
Barack Obama and served as
mayor of Chicago from 2011 to 2019. He has expressed interest in September 2025 in an article in
The Wall Street Journal, as well as in October 2025 in
The Atlantic, and in January 2026 in
Axios. In that January 2026
Axios interview, Emanuel said that "there's two wings in our party right now, and I hope to dominate one of them," contrasting a Democratic "renewal wing" with what he called a "resistance wing". Later that month,
Axios reported that Emanuel was among the few prospective 2028 Democratic candidates willing to give direct answers on transgender issues, saying that "a man" could not become "a woman". Also in January 2026, Emanuel proposed a mandatory retirement age of 75 for the president, Congress, and federal judges, a standard he said would apply to him as well.
Ruben Gallego Ruben Gallego has served as a U.S. senator from
Arizona since 2025. He has been mentioned as a potential candidate by
The Hill,
Politico, and
The New York Times. Gallego stated in an April 2026 interview that he would "have to look at it," referring to a potential run for president.
Josh Green Josh Green has served as the 9th
governor of Hawaii since 2022, and previously served as the 15th
lieutenant governor and in both houses of the
Hawaii Legislature. Green also told the
Associated Press in November 2025 that he is open to running but would rather support someone else; in the same interview, Green, whom the AP described as a moderate, said, "I will definitely try to heal America, even perhaps as president someday, if we're really in deep trouble."
Kamala Harris Kamala Harris served as the 49th (and first female)
vice president of the United States from 2021 to 2025. She became the party's nominee for president in the
2024 presidential election after President Joe Biden
withdrew from the race, losing to Trump. Following the 2024 presidential election, Harris considered running for
governor of California in
2026, but in July 2025 she opted not to, a decision that left open the possibility of another presidential bid. In a Chicago stop of her
107 Days book tour, Harris expressed uncertainty about running again. In an interview with the
Associated Press that month, Harris said of a possible 2028 run, "I haven't decided. Sincerely. I have not decided. I may or I may not. I have not decided," while also saying, "I am a leader of the party." She later spoke with
Laura Kuenssberg in an October 2025 interview on
BBC News about potentially running for president again, stating "I am not done". In November 2025, Morning Consult reported that Harris remained atop its hypothetical Democratic primary field. In February 2026, polls suggested that Harris would win the election in a rematch with President Donald Trump. She remarked in a podcast interview with Sharon McMahon that same month that she had not decided on running again for president in 2028.
Mark Kelly Mark Kelly has served as a U.S. senator from
Arizona since 2020. He was previously on the shortlist to be the vice presidential nominee for the 2024 election, and was seen as a potential replacement for President
Joe Biden before he
withdrew from the race. He has been noted as a potential candidate by
Axios and
Politico. During a January 2026 interview with
Aaron Parnas, Kelly confirmed he was considering a run for president. He reiterated that he was considering a presidential run in an interview with CNN several weeks later, and again in a BBC interview in February.
Ro Khanna Ro Khanna has served as the U.S. representative for
California's 17th congressional district since 2017. A progressive aligned with the
Bernie Sanders wing of the Democratic Party, he was a co-chair of Sanders's
2020 presidential campaign. In November 2025,
Semafor wrote that the "very early 2028 conversation" had produced "a surge" for Khanna, and in January 2026,
Axios included him among Democrats viewed as possible 2028 contenders. Khanna gave his clearest public indication of possible interest in March 2026, when, during an interview with
WMUR-TV while visiting New Hampshire, he said of a possible presidential bid, "We'll look at that after the midterm," and added that he would decide "whether I'm a candidate or not" after the midterm. Khanna "teased a presidential run during a conversation with ...
Al Sharpton" in early April 2026.
Mitch Landrieu Mitch Landrieu most recently served as
senior advisor to the president for
infrastructure investment and jobs from 2021 to 2024. He previously served as
mayor of New Orleans from 2010 to 2018 and
lieutenant governor of Louisiana from 2004 to 2010. In an interview with
CNN, Landrieu expressed possible interest in a president campaign, stating "Whether I'm the president or one of a hundred of my best friends are president, I am at a point in my life where I really feel like the future of the country is at stake. And so, people say, 'What, are you going to run for president?' Maybe."
Randal Gaines, the chair of the
Louisiana Democratic Party, spoke to Landrieu about running for the
2026 United States Senate election in Louisiana, though Landrieu was more interested in "a run for president."
Gavin Newsom Gavin Newsom has served as the 40th
governor of California since 2019. Newsom has been widely viewed as a contender for the 2028 presidential election by outlets including Reuters and the Associated Press. He was seen as a potential replacement for Biden after his withdrawal from the 2024 election by
The New York Times. According to
The New York Times, Newsom was considering a bid for the presidency by September 2023. After Newsom's response to the
June 2025 Los Angeles protests, it was reported that his chances of being the 2028 Democratic nominee increased significantly. Newsom's chances reportedly rose further in August 2025, attributed to the
Election Rigging Response Act and him mocking President
Donald Trump on social media. In October 2025, in an interview with
CBS News Sunday Morning, Newsom stated that after the
2026 midterm elections, he would give "serious thought" to it, adding, "Yeah, I'd be lying otherwise." In December 2025,
Axios reported that rival Democratic operatives viewed Newsom as the early 2028 frontrunner and "the guy to beat". When asked about running for president in February 2026, he stated "It's wildly premature." Later that month, Newsom told
The Guardian, "If someone else doesn't have that fire, that sense of purpose and mission, then, yeah, I could see myself stepping into that void."
Elissa Slotkin Elissa Slotkin has served as a U.S. senator from
Michigan since 2025. She indicated that she was considering a 2028 presidential run in an April 2026 interview with the Associated Press, and in an interview with
The Des Moines Register that same month.
Speculated by the media John Fetterman John Fetterman has served as a U.S. senator from
Pennsylvania since 2023, and previously served as
Lieutenant Governor of Pennsylvania from 2019 to 2023. Fetterman has frequently been considered one of the Senate Democratic Caucus's most centrist members, most notably for crossing party lines to confirm some of
Trump's Cabinet appointees, his consistent support for the state of Israel, and his decision to vote with Senate Republicans to end the shutdown fight. Fetterman has been reported to be "leaving all doors open" for 2028, including a run for re-election to the Senate as well as a presidential bid. When asked about a presidential run, he replied "it's 2025."
Phil Murphy Phil Murphy served as the 56th
governor of New Jersey from 2018 to 2026. He previously served as
U.S. ambassador to Germany from 2009 to 2013 under President
Barack Obama. In December 2025, Murphy confirmed that while he hadn't ruled out running for president in 2028, he claimed "I wouldn't put a lot of money on that."
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez has served as the representative of since 2019.
Politico noted that Ocasio-Cortez "has a prominent following from younger, diverse people".
Axios noted in April 2025 that Ocasio-Cortez has been "surging in early polling of potential 2028 presidential candidates". Despite this lead, it was later noted that the odds of other candidates such as Gavin Newsom were starting to widen. In September 2025,
Axios reported that Ocasio-Cortez was positioning to run for president or Senate in 2028.
The Hill conducted a poll on December 8, 2025, where Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez led among young voters. According to other polls by
The Guardian, Ocasio-Cortez is one of the top contenders beside Harris and Newsom. In December, Ocasio-Cortez responded to a poll that showed she led Vance by tweeting "Bloop!" She has drawn contrasts between herself and Vance on various issues as of January 2026. In 2026, Ocasio-Cortez attended the
Munich Security Conference, which increased her visibility as a leader for Democrats. Ocasio-Cortez has been seen as the far-left option for Democrats, and has attempted to make amends with leftist critics, including by pledging not to support defensive aid to Israel at a forum of the
New York City chapter of the
Democratic Socialists of America.
JB Pritzker JB Pritzker has served as the 43rd
governor of Illinois since 2019. Pritzker is one of the wealthiest elected officials in America, with an estimated net worth of $3.7 billion, and has largely bankrolled his own gubernatorial campaigns, as well as national abortion-rights initiatives. Pritzker was considered a potential running mate to Kamala Harris in the 2024 presidential election. Pritzker is a potential Democratic contender, according to
Capitol News Illinois,
The New York Times, and has declined to rule out a run. In 2023, Pritzker declined to speak directly with
Representative Dean Phillips regarding his effort to try to convince him to enter the Democratic Party presidential primary race to oppose Biden. Pritzker is also seeking a third term as governor of Illinois in
2026.
Josh Shapiro Josh Shapiro has served as the 48th
governor of Pennsylvania since 2023. Being elected in
2022 by 15 points in a state won by Donald Trump twice, and with him being relatively popular in his home state. Following the announcement of his autobiography and book tour, he has been viewed as a potential Democratic presidential candidate by
The Washington Post and
The Philadelphia Inquirer.
Jon Stewart Jon Stewart is an
activist,
comedian, and
commentator. Stewart had been the subject of speculation for years as a potential presidential candidate, including in a
Politico opinion piece by
Juleanna Glover where Stewart was described as a potentially formidable
anti-establishment outsider 2024 Democratic candidate in the event that Biden did not run. Since then, Stewart has been mentioned as a potential 2028 Democratic candidate by
The Hill,
USA Today, the
Washington Examiner, and
Zeteo in late 2025 as well as
Current Affairs in early 2026. In a late July 2025 interview with
Mehdi Hasan, Stewart stated that "the Democratic Party is ripe for a takeover... they just need to find the right reality host," and was pressed by Hasan on a potential 2028 Democratic presidential run, to which Hasan recalled that Stewart "didn't deny that was what he was suggesting." Stewart has been included in multiple 2028 national primary polls by
Echelon Insights from September to November 2025. In a December 2025 interview with
Tim Miller of
The Bulwark, Stewart mentioned that
Robert F. Kennedy Jr. could be a strong Republican nominee in 2028. Miller responded by suggesting a potential election face-off between Kennedy and Stewart, to which Stewart did not offer comment.
Race to the White House includes Stewart at 2% in its national presidential polling average for the Democratic primaries as of March 2026. Stewart later addressed the idea of running for president directly in January 2026, stating that he believed appeals were coming out of a feeling of "helplessness."
Declined to be candidates The following individuals have publicly denied interest in being a candidate: •
Joe Biden, 46th
president of the United States (2021–2025), 47th
vice president of the United States (2009–2017) and
U.S. senator from
Delaware (1973–2009) •
Stephen Colbert, comedian and host of
The Late Show with Stephen Colbert •
Josh Gottheimer,
U.S. representative from
NJ-05 (2017–present) and candidate for
governor of New Jersey in
2025 •
John Hickenlooper,
U.S. senator from
Colorado (2021–present), 42nd
governor of Colorado (2011–2019), and candidate for president in
2020 •
Wes Moore, 63rd
governor of Maryland (2023–present) and CEO of the
Robin Hood Foundation (2017–2021) •
Seth Moulton,
U.S. representative from
MA-06 (2015–present)
(endorsed Shapiro) •
Michelle Obama,
First Lady of the United States (2009–2017) •
Jon Ossoff,
U.S. senator from
Georgia (2021–present) •
Jared Polis, 43rd
governor of Colorado (2019–present) and
U.S. representative from (2009–2019) •
Bernie Sanders,
U.S. senator from
Vermont (2007–present),
U.S. representative from (1991–2007), and candidate for president in
2016 and
2020 •
Stephen A. Smith, sports media personality
(endorsed Moore, Rubio and Shapiro) •
Tom Steyer, businessman, candidate for president in
2020, and candidate for governor of California in
2026 •
Tim Walz, 41st
governor of Minnesota (2019–present),
U.S. representative from
MN-01 (2007–2019) and vice presidential nominee in
2024 Endorsements == Third-party and independent candidates ==