The 2028 presidential race is already playing out in the text threads and phone calls of a new set of Democratic power brokers.
A number of would-be White House contenders — including former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker, Maryland Gov. Wes Moore, former Ambassador Rahm Emanuel and Sens. Mark Kelly (D-Ariz.) and Cory Booker (D-N.J.) — have already reached out to various winners, interviews with rumored 2028 hopefuls and newly elected Democrats reveal.
Incoming Reps. Nancy Lacore (D-S.C.) and Teresa Benitez-Thompson (D-Nev.), incoming Sens. Abdul El-Sayed in Michigan, Chris Pappas in New Hampshire and Annie Andrews in South Carolina, and New Mexico Gov.-elect Deb Haaland all got calls.
The outreach signals a desire among Democrats who surfed a massive blue wave to victory last week to leverage those wins and influence the coming presidential contest, both in key early primary states and battlegrounds.
“Lots of congratulatory calls with ‘we would like to have conversations soon,'” said Morgan Jackson, a senior adviser to Sen.-elect Roy Cooper in North Carolina.
Some newly elected Democrats are openly positioning themselves as kingmakers on the road to 2028, arguing their campaigns offer templates for the next crop of White House aspirants. Others are positioning themselves as ambassadors to their states.
El-Sayed wants his party’s next presidential nominee to support passing progressive policies like Medicare for All — and told POLITICO he hopes they’ll agree with his unflinching criticism of U.S. military support for Israel. Incoming Michigan Rep. William Lawrence said that Democrats won a “clear mandate” to take on Big Tech, including data centers, and to prevent endless wars, and he wants those issues to stay on “top of the agenda for 2028.” Haaland told POLITICO ahead of Election Day she wants Democrats to “have a plan for Indian tribes.”
Their rise will influence the potential 2028 field’s ability to navigate new geography and new demands while courting established kingmakers and party leaders. And some warning signs are already emerging: Allies of Texas governor-elect Gina Hinojosa’s are knives out for Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear, who they argue didn’t do enough to help her as chair of the Democratic Governors Association and doesn’t understand the power of Latino voters — a necessary component of any 2028 bid.
First stop: South Carolina
No state will be as central as South Carolina, which will go first on Democrats’ presidential primary calendar and where the bench of candidates will be deepest.
Longtime Democratic Rep. Jim Clyburn (S.C.) is still expected to reprise his role as the host and kingmaker. But Andrews’ and Lacore’s massive upsets last Tuesday have supercharged Democrats’ delegation in the state.
Andrews has fielded multiple calls from potential presidential candidates since Election Day, according to a person with direct knowledge of her conversations. Lacore, too, has taken “many” congratulatory calls from potential Democratic candidates, per another person with direct knowledge. Sens. Raphael Warnock of Georgia and Kelly both campaigned for Andrews during the race, and Buttigieg and Beshear made appearances with Lacore in her coastal district.
Clyburn has long been vocal about the direction of the Democratic Party, active on the trail and open with his endorsements and advice to presidential hopefuls — and just recently with POLITICO. It’s not clear how the two newcomers will seek to shape 2028: Representatives for both campaigns declined to comment.
But Andrews, a pediatrician, made health care a central part of her campaign. And Lacore’s focus on veterans’ issues and national security could bring those to the forefront. The two of them and Clyburn are set to meet on Capitol Hill for the first time as South Carolina’s incoming delegation on Wednesday to plan how best to work together in Congress, according to a person familiar with the gathering.
Antjuan Seawright, a Clyburn adviser and Democratic strategist, said the three Palmetto State Democrats will likely have “different” approaches to their involvement in the 2028 primary.
“The three of them, individually and collectively, will have a tremendous opportunity to entertain and introduce South Carolina to the potential candidates who are seeking the office,” Seawright said.
Kicking the tires in New Hampshire
New Hampshire’s elected Democrats have long wielded outsize influence over the party’s nominating process in what was the first-in-the-nation primary state. Pappas, a four-term representative, and Rep.-elect Stefany Shaheen, the daughter of two longtime New Hampshire Democratic power players, are well steeped in 2028 after multiple potential candidates campaigned with them through the fall to gain footholds in the state.
Pappas started signaling his status as a power broker in the final days of the election, and was on Kelly’s list of election-night phone calls.
“We had a lot of visitors at the end of this campaign, maybe some folks who were just using me as an excuse to come visit New Hampshire and kick the tires a little bit,” Pappas said on WMUR in a post-election interview.
Pappas told POLITICO on Monday he would “certainly” serve as an ambassador for candidates — and suggested there are “people who want to certainly come back soon. I think it’s going to kick off pretty quickly.”
Jim Demers, a veteran Democratic strategist and liaison for presidential hopefuls in the state, told POLITICO he believes both Pappas and Shaheen could serve as key conduits for candidates looking to play in New Hampshire.
“Both of them are very campaign smart, and so their advice to any of the potential presidential candidates will be important,” Demers said. “I would expect they’re going to be extremely popular and can be a big help to any of them who want help.”
The progressive agenda in Michigan
Michigan is already the epicenter of the Democratic Party’s most polarizing fights over policy and ideology. Now, the perennial battleground sits fifth in the presidential primary lineup.
Few have been so openly positioning themselves to join the ranks of the state’s power brokers as El-Sayed, who declared even before his primary win that he would “dog” presidential hopefuls “up and down the state” to embrace his progressive platform, including Medicare for All.
“It’s important to me that I’ve got a governing partner,” El-Sayed told POLITICO in a post-election interview. “I’m going to do what I can to make sure that I get one.”
El-Sayed could play a significant role in shaping the debate over Israel in a state that gave rise to the “uncommitted” movement in 2024 — and where he ran aggressively against U.S. military aid to the country.
The senator-elect said he hopes the next nominee will share his stance; when asked about that remark, Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro said he looks forward to “having a thoughtful conversation with” El-Sayed on the topic.
“I will be advocating for what I believe to be right, and clearly my state agrees with me on this issue,” El-Sayed said, adding, “If you want to be where the voters are — if you want to be on the side of peace and on the side of justice and transparency — I believe that that is around holding Israel accountable to its war crimes and on making sure our tax dollars get used to do good things here rather than bad things somewhere else.”
Others are ready to engage with their party’s future in a more neutral role. Jocelyn Benson, the moderate incoming governor, said in an interview that she will “certainly invite folks to come to our state to make their case to our residents.”
Over in the West
The West will have its biggest role in the calendar yet, with New Mexico joining Nevada as early calendar stops.
As Nevada’s new top official with strong working-class appeal, Democratic Gov.-elect Aaron Ford could play a major role in shepherding 2028 candidates — should he choose to. He’s already fielded congratulatory calls from Moore, who leads the National Governors Association, and others.
Benitez-Thompson, who will represent the large swath of rural northern Nevada, is already embracing her role as an ambassador for the region and has taken calls from a “number” of likely presidential contenders in the days after the midterm election.
“I am dead set on making sure that I can bring resources home for northern Nevada and investments home into northern Nevada. I’ll be talking to any and everyone who can help me move resources and levers to make that happen,” she said in an interview. “Come to northern Nevada, step off of the plane, but be ready for me to show you what our needs are.”
Adam Wren, Ali Bianco, Lauren Fedor, Aaron Pellish and Meredith Lee Hill contributed to this report.
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