Ranking the Democrats: Here's who the party could nominate next as president

Democrats are licking their wounds after Vice President Harris’s defeat to President-elect Trump, but already are looking toward who might lead their party in a 2028 presidential contest.

It’s a fight that looks wide open.

The certainty is that Trump himself will not be on the ballot, since the Constitution limits him to two terms. Vice President-elect JD Vance is the likely GOP front-runner as the party’s next presidential nominee.

Democrats could have a flood of potential candidates, and there are disagreements within the party over what to prioritize.

Some Democrats say the party needs to start over, injecting itself with new blood for the next presidential contest.

Others say Harris deserves another shot at the presidency, pointing to the 74 million votes cast for her earlier this month. 

“Just like in 2016, we’re a little lost and rudderless, and not quite sure what we want going forward,” one Democratic strategist acknowledged. 

What seems certain is a crowded field.

Early names include everyone from Harris to Sen. Raphael Warnock of Georgia to Govs. Wes Moore of Maryland, Andy Beshear of Kentucky and Phil Murphy of New Jersey.

Here are the top contenders: 

Kamala Harris

Democrats have not been putting the blame on Harris for their defeat, at least for the most part.

It is President Biden, who dropped out of the race in July and endorsed his vice president, who has received the lion’s share of criticism.

Democrats say in many ways the race Harris inherited from Biden wasn't the one she would have run if she’d been the candidate at the outset.

“In many ways, this was still Joe Biden’s race. Even though she was the nominee in the end, she still had a number of constraints, including the fact that she couldn’t maneuver to distance herself from him when she needed to,” one ally to the vice president said.

At the same time, Harris showed that she could run an impressive campaign even in the short time she was in the race, according those pining for another run.

The vice president’s political instincts have also grown, and she now has the understanding and experience of someone who has run a $1 billion campaign.

She also has name recognition; an Emerson poll out this week showed Harris leading other potential contenders in 2028.

To be sure, there are a number of reasons to think Harris won’t be the nominee and wouldn’t emerge from a competitive primary.

Gender could be a factor. The last two times Democrats nominated a woman to be their presidential standard-bearer, their candidate lost to Trump. There will be some Democrats who will want to go in a different direction.

Harris also led a billion-dollar campaign that lost. And her campaign was far from perfect. There are some Democrats who think it would be foolish to choose the same nominee in 2028 who lost in 2024.

Harris, for her part, has also told allies she wants to keep her options open. If she doesn’t run again for president, some say she could easily run for governor of California. 

Gavin Newsom

Long before Biden dropped out of the race, California’s governor was positioning himself as a potential nominee in case the president decided not to run for reelection.

In many ways, he became the bulwark for Democrats against Trump.

Throughout the Biden administration, Newsom took on Trump and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R), something that pleased Democrats who wanted a leader to punch the GOP in the face.

“He spoils for a fight, and right now, you have a party that wants a shot in the arm,” a second Democratic strategist said. 

Newsom will be able to raise money, he’s known across the country and he leads a populous Democratic state.

He’s positioning himself as part of a Trump resistance, already calling for a special session of the California Legislature to “safeguard California values and fundamental rights in the face of an incoming Trump administration.”

Can a California Democrat win a general election for president? It has yet to happen in U.S. history, and plenty of Democrats have their doubts.

But Newsom certainly looks like a leading candidate in 2028.

Gretchen Whitmer

Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer has long been seen as a strong potential presidential candidate.

There are some Democrats who wish there had been a more open contest for the nomination this cycle, and who think Whitmer might have been a stronger general election candidate.

In 2028, Whitmer will face questions about gender because of the defeats of Harris in 2024 and Hillary Clinton in 2016 against Trump.

“The next nominee is always a referendum on the last one,” Democratic strategist Christy Setzer said.

“I think Harris ran a much better race than anyone could’ve asked for, [but] the obvious takeaway is going to be that we shouldn’t run a woman of color or a woman at all. Sucks, but I don’t see people having a different analysis.” 

Whitmer’s fans point out that the governor of Michigan is proof that a Democrat can not only win a competitive "blue wall" state but have a successful agenda.

Whitmer was a top contender to be Biden’s running mate in 2020, and since then her political star has risen.

She has also continued to raise millions of dollars for her super PAC, Fight Like Hell PAC, according to federal campaign finance filings.

“She is the real deal,” said one Democrat who has spoken to her in recent months. 

Josh Shapiro

Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro emerged from the Democrats’ loss of the White House in a stronger position, even with Harris losing his state.

He was widely seen as the second choice to be Harris’s vice presidential candidate after Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, and there will be questions going forward over whether he might have made the difference in the blue wall states.

“We’ll never know how that would play out, but he certainly got a lot of attention for it,” one Democratic donor said. “And I know a lot of us think he definitely has the chops to one day run for higher office. He has a certain gravitas.”

Shapiro maintains solid approval ratings in his state as he grows his national profile.

But polling shows he still has work to do in building his name ID. The Emerson poll out this week showed that only 3 percent of those surveyed said they would support him.

Pete Buttigieg

Since he ran for president in 2020, Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg has been someone Democrats have said could be the future of the party.

While the 42-year-old’s tenure as Biden’s Transportation secretary hasn’t always been smooth, Democrat after Democrat says he is without a doubt the party’s best communicator since former President Obama.

He is comfortable before a large crowd and also on Fox News, something appealing to Democrats who say the party needs to do more to win over working-class men who have flocked to Trump. For the time being, he's also polling ahead of most of the Democratic pack. 

JB Pritzker

After Biden’s disastrous debate performance in June, Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker was one of the Democrats many thought might mount a bid for the nomination in an open primary at the convention, which was hosted in Chicago, right in the Illinois governor’s home state.

An heir to the Hyatt Hotel chain, Pritzker could easily build his campaign coffers — and quickly.

He also has a string of legislative achievements that could be appealing to Democrats.

He signed legislation that would raise the minimum wage to $15 in the state. He also signed several reproductive rights bills.

Together with Gov. Jared Polis of Colorado, he helped form a coalition of Democratic governors called Governors Safeguarding Democracy.

Democrats have also applauded the way he went after Trump the day after he was elected earlier this month.

“To anyone who intends to come, take away the freedom and opportunity and dignity of Illinoisans, I would remind you that a happy warrior is still a warrior,” he said. “You come for my people, you come through me.”

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez

When Democrats talk about the future of the party, the 35-year-old New York congresswoman’s name always bubbles to the top.

Democrats have long been impressed with Ocasio-Cortez's ability to “cut through the BS and tell it like it is,” the second Democratic strategist said.

“She’s somebody who can cut through the noise and doesn’t talk like Washington.”

Democrats say Ocasio-Cortez would be a magnet for young voters and would have little trouble using social media, podcasts and other online tools, as she has been doing since she was elected to Congress in 2018.

While Ocasio-Cortez was once aligned with progressives including Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), she has since backed more centrist candidates.

Still, some Democrats say she still represents a more leftist wing of the party to some voters, something that could hurt her if she pursues higher office.

“She and the 'squad' started pushing too hard, too fast,” the first strategist said. “D.C. doesn’t work that way. And our party doesn’t work that way. We need to get back to the basics.”