Source: Politics<\/p>\n
Top Democrats are using 2026 as a launching pad for potential 2028 presidential runs.<\/p>\n
From progressive Reps. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.) and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) to the more moderate Pete Buttigieg and Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro, Democrats have sought to shape their party by endorsing in contested primaries this year. They’ve traveled the country to raise their own profiles and elevate candidates they see as the future of the party.<\/p>\n
Their strategies have not always been successful \u2014 but they have been revealing: Some endorsed against incumbents based on generational or ideological differences. Some weighed in early to give candidates credence, while others waited until the last minute to help them close out the race. And some have focused on purple districts and other competitive races that could determine control of Congress in the fall.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf you’re thinking about running for president, you need allies,\u201d said Mike Nellis, a Democratic strategist whose firm works with House and Senate campaigns across the country. \u201cThe more that you’re out there, trying to get people elected and making a meaningful difference, voters are going to remember that.\u201d<\/p>\n
Appearing with candidates on the campaign trail is an opportunity for potential 2028 candidates to create social media buzz, Nellis noted. Traveling gives them opportunities to connect with donors and elected officials across the country who might be helpful for a future presidential run and pressure test how messages work in various parts of the country. For those not up for an election of their own this year, it\u2019s also a way to stay relevant.<\/p>\n
Some potential presidential candidates have been particularly prolific, while others have been more cautious or stuck to their home states, according to a POLITICO review of endorsements in House, Senate and gubernatorial races. And a handful mostly stayed out of this year\u2019s primaries.<\/p>\n
Few members of Congress threw out as many endorsements as Khanna.<\/p>\n
The California representative, who has said he is \u201cseriously considering\u201d running for president in 2028, endorsed in more than a dozen races, often serving as one of the earliest national backers of progressive candidates such as Kat Abughazaleh in Illinois\u2019 9th District and Analilia Mejia in New Jersey\u2019s 11th District. Abughazaleh lost her race, while Mejia won.<\/p>\n
Khanna also backed left-wing candidates that other national progressives shied away from, most notably democratic socialist state Rep. Francesca Hong in the Wisconsin gubernatorial race.<\/p>\n
His record is mixed. Hong lost and former Maine Senate Democratic nominee Graham Platner, who Khanna stood by despite a series of controversies<\/a>, had to drop out after winning a primary but facing an allegation of sexual assault, which he denies \u2014 at which point Khanna, like many others, withdrew his endorsement.<\/p>\n Khanna told POLITICO he likes \u201cendorsing early when an insurgent candidate is a bit of a longshot because that is when they need the endorsement most.\u201d He looks for candidates who support Medicare for All and taxing billionaires and are opposed to foreign wars.<\/p>\n \u201cMy philosophy is to give those who are outsiders and have to scrape their way in \u2014 like I had to \u2014 a fair shot,\u201d he said in a text message.<\/p>\n Ocasio-Cortez also endorsed a large slate of progressive candidates, but she\u2019s been more selective than Khanna \u2014 a difference in approach that\u2019s sparked some infighting<\/a> within the Bernie Sanders wing of the progressive movement.<\/p>\n Critics have argued she\u2019s played it too safe. But her selectivity has also meant she avoided high-profile stumbles.<\/p>\n Ocasio-Cortez has positioned herself as more of a closer this cycle. In California\u2019s 22nd District, a battleground in the Central Valley, Khanna endorsed progressive professor Randy Villegas last September, while Ocasio-Cortez dropped her endorsement in May \u2014 about a month before the primary. Villegas ultimately defeated a moderate lawmaker backed by the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee and is among the progressives who will now try to knock off an incumbent Republican in November.<\/p>\n Ocasio-Cortez actively campaigned for progressives in several contested battleground primaries, rallying with Sam Forstag in Montana<\/a> and alongside Sanders with Abdul El-Sayed, who narrowly won the Democratic Senate nomination in Michigan.<\/p>\n She recently threw her support behind Sen. Ed Markey (D-Mass.), who faces a primary challenge from Rep. Seth Moulton next week.<\/p>\n The other most frequent endorser among potential Democratic 2028ers this cycle played in a different lane. Former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, a moderate, has been active on the campaign trail, visiting most presidential battleground states and endorsing in key Senate primaries, including Rep. Angie Craig in Minnesota\u2019s Democratic Senate primary \u2014 which she lost to progressive Peggy Flanagan<\/a> \u2014 and state Rep. Josh Turek in Iowa\u2019s Democratic Senate primary<\/a>, which he won.<\/p>\n Buttigieg, who has said he is \u201cmore inclined than not\u201d to run for president again in 2028, has also notched endorsement wins with Rebecca Cooke in Wisconsin\u2019s battleground 3rd District and former Hartford Mayor Luke Bronin in Connecticut, who defeated incumbent Rep. John Larson<\/a> earlier this month.<\/p>\n Governors eyeing White House runs kept their endorsements closer to home, largely trying to play kingmaker within state lines as they face their own reelection fights.<\/p>\n The local focus allows them to flex their influence while avoiding criticism for nationalizing their own states\u2019 politics. And they\u2019ve campaigned aggressively for their chosen candidates \u2014 political power plays that not only strengthen their standing on home turf but could also serve as springboards for national bids.<\/p>\n Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker pumped $10 million into a super PAC supporting his lieutenant governor, Juliana Stratton, in the contentious Senate primary to replace retiring Sen. Dick Durbin, and appeared alongside her on the campaign trail. He described the race as \u201cpersonal\u201d to him<\/a>; Stratton won by 7 points.<\/p>\n Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro expended significant political capital in one of Democrats\u2019 top House targets in his state, helping recruit longtime ally and firefighter union chief Bob Brooks into the race against GOP Rep. Ryan Mackenzie in the state\u2019s swingy 7th District and then working to elevate him out of a four-way primary<\/a>. Shapiro fundraised for Brooks, cut an ad for him and joined him on the stump ahead of Election Day; Brooks won by nearly 20 points.<\/p>\n Shapiro was also one of a handful of Democratic attorneys-general-turned-governors who backed Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser in his gubernatorial primary against Sen. Michael Bennet. Weiser won by 14 points.<\/p>\n In Maryland, Gov. Wes Moore backed state Del. Adrian Boafo in the crowded race to replace retiring Rep. Steny Hoyer and boosted Rep. April McClain Delaney in her bruising primary against former Rep. David Trone \u2014 including recording a robocall on her behalf. An adviser to Moore said the governor had preexisting relationships with both candidates he endorsed, and that he prioritizes local and in-state races as he seeks to make endorsement decisions that will benefit his constituents.<\/p>\n Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer also stuck to her state, only really playing in Michigan\u2019s high-profile Senate race. She endorsed Rep. Haley Stevens in the final stretch of the race, although she wasn\u2019t active on the campaign trail in the same way Pritzker was for Stratton or Shapiro for Brooks.<\/p>\n Even among candidates occupying a more centrist lane heading into 2028, there was room for disagreement.<\/p>\n Sen. Elissa Slotkin (D-Mich.), a former national security official, endorsed retired Navy SEAL Matt Maasdam, a moderate in Michigan\u2019s 7th district, which she previously represented. Several Democrats had hoped she\u2019d back former foreign service officer Bridget Brink, a fellow moderate \u2014 and as they split the centrist vote, progressive William Lawrence ascended to the nomination in the toss-up district instead.<\/p>\n A person familiar with Slotkin\u2019s thinking, granted anonymity to speak candidly about internal deliberations, said that she connected better with Maasdam and saw him as a stronger general election candidate.<\/p>\n The person also acknowledged that Slotkin\u2019s decision to wait to issue her endorsement until three weeks before the primary didn\u2019t leave enough time for voters and party leaders to coalesce around Maasdam.<\/p>\n Sen. Mark Kelly (D-Ariz.) rolled out a slate of endorsements of veteran candidates, mostly for the general election, but has backed a range of other Democrats in primaries. That includes DCCC-backed political novice Marlene Galan-Woods in his home state, only for her to lose the primary in Arizona\u2019s 1st District.<\/p>\n \u201cAs Navy combat veteran and former NASA astronaut, Mark Kelly knows the country is best served by leaders who represent their communities and bring a range of different backgrounds and experiences to the job. It\u2019s why he\u2019s endorsed candidates in competitive primaries and campaigned for Democrats up and down the ballot,\u201d Kelly spokesperson Marisol Samayoa said.<\/p>\n In next week\u2019s primary in New Hampshire\u2019s 1st District, Kelly is supporting Stefany Shaheen, the daughter of his Senate colleague Jeanne Shaheen, praising her as a \u201cfearless leader\u201d who would stand up to President Donald Trump.<\/p>\n New Jersey Gov. Mikie Sherrill also went on a recent endorsement spree focused on military veterans<\/a>. But she\u2019s backing Maura Sullivan in the race against Shaheen next week, along with Rep. Seth Moulton in his primary against Sen. Ed Markey, who has gotten backing from progressives including Ocasio-Cortez.<\/p>\nMost governors stuck close to home<\/h5>\n
Disagreements among moderates<\/h5>\n