And they’re off! The 2028 Democratic presidential candidate race begins

The “horse race” has begun. The potential candidates have just broken out of the gates, and the long stampede to the Democratic presidential nominationhas unofficially started.There’sa long time still to go—but nevertheless, early positioning has taken place.

To put things in a bit of perspective, as of this writing, there were “only” 1,183 days remaining ’til that fateful Nov 7, 2028–next presidential election day.  Another website described it as 3 years, 3 months, 1 day, 7 hours, 59 minutes, and 54 seconds. 

But who's counting, right?

The important point isthat the race has started. It will be a long, wild, curvy, bumpy endurance race to the finish line–with plenty of surprises for sure before it is all done. So, who might be the first to break through the wire at the finish line?  Who might be “the last man (or woman) standing” as your eventual winner?

It’s anybody’s guess at this point, and clearly way too early to predict, but…

Here is an early look as the candidates break out of the gates and begin the long trek. Keep in mind, it is almost guaranteed that the contenders listed below, and whatever particular place they may be in now, will be completely different come November 2028. There will be more tossing and turning and positioning than a newborn with a bad milk experience in the middle of the night.

Having said that, let’s take a quick sneak peek at how the race has started as the gates opened up, and the track announcer called, “and they’re off!”

Who’s leading the pack?

In the early lead? Hard to tell. There is a pack at the front. 

Certainly, California Gov. Gavin Newsom is one of your early leaders. Newsom is smooth, charismatic, intelligent, and not afraid to challenge the current regime.  Can he be the first California candidate to become president since Ronald Reagan? One thing is for sure, they both have those Hollywood good looks.

Also in the front group is Josh Shapiro, who was the second choice for VP in the failed 2024 Democratic race and has a strong following in the key state of Pennsylvania. Is the country ready for a Jewish president? We shall see.

JB Pritzker of Illinois has also joined the early “front of the pack” group and has been doing the TV talk show circuit with remarkable effectiveness. He has the money (Pritzker family among the wealthiest of the wealthy), and JB is another one who is not afraid to directly confront the current Republican regime

Pete Buttigieg–I still call him “Mayor Pete”--came out of absolutely nowhere in 2020 and almost won the race against Joe Biden. Buttigieg has off-the-charts intelligence, is a remarkable communicator, and who absolutely no one would want to take on in a one-on-one debate. Question? Is the country ready to elect a president who is gay? It will be interesting to see how that unfolds, but Buttigieg has the goods to go the distance, no question.

Who’s in the middle, but still a contender?

Just behind this front pack, and really at this point not much is separating them all, might be Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear, a more moderate candidate; Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer; and Maryland Gov. Wesley Moore.As for Whitmer, is the country ready for another Democratic female candidate after two close losses by Hilary and Kamala? 

Keep an eye on Moore. He could run with the pack for a while, but is strong enough to surge to the front and pull away at some point. Moore has a military background, a great demeanor and confidence, and a little of the Barack Obama “juice,” if we can call it that.

Maybe throw Democratic congressman from New Jersey Chris Murphy and New Jersey Sen. Cory Booker in that just-off-the-pace early group as well. Both Murphy and Booker have been visible, effective, and at times downright electrifying in their defiance of the current Republican regime.

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Hey, who else is there?

Want some longshots? Breaking out of the gate way behind, but could absolutely make a run for it at some point?

The list is long—and by no means all-inclusive--but how about these?

Rahm Emmanuel (rising from the political dead, like a Timex watch—” takes a licking and keeps on ticking”), or AOC ( the highly controversial but incredibly well-spoken Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez), or maybe Georgia’s young Sen. Jon Ossoff.(Keep an eye on this guy, young but dangerous—in a good way).

Long shots and dark horses

Want to get really crazy?How aboutMark Cuban (a non-politician who has the money, the smarts, the charm, and can debate with the best of them), Tom Hanks (another non politician who could win in a landslide on his pure unadulterated likeability alone), Stephen A. Smith (putting the capital “O” into outspoken as an opinionated, and then some, sports talk host), or New York mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani? (He just pulled off one huge shocker, why not another?) Don’t forget Bernie Sanders! Can the Dems get him to rise again and get the country to “feel the Bern” once more? 

We might even see a rerun attempt for former Vice President Kamala Harris or Minnesota Gov. Tim “The Coach” Walz.

Remember, the above are just some of the “horses” possibly in the race right now. No one has officially declared yet. 

A better bet might be that some unknownwill come to the forefront and maybe capture the attention of the country and the Democratic faithful. Remember,  absolutely no one knew who Barack Obama was at a similar point, three years before his actual election.

We are not sure how much “fun” it will be to watch this race unfold, but it should be entertaining at the very least.

The “horses” have all left the gate, the race has begun, but sit tight—the jockeys have yet to crack the whip.

One final note, since you have read this, there are now only 3 years, 3 months, 1 day, 7 hours, 55 minutes, and 11 seconds until the 2028 voting booths open up.