Source: Politics<\/p>\n
The 2028 presidential race is already playing out in the text threads and phone calls of a new set of Democratic power brokers.<\/p>\n
A number of would-be White House contenders \u2014 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.) \u2014 have already reached out to various winners, interviews with rumored 2028 hopefuls and newly elected Democrats reveal.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
“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.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
El-Sayed wants his party’s next presidential nominee to support passing progressive policies like Medicare for All \u2014 and told POLITICO he hopes they\u2019ll agree<\/a> with his unflinching criticism of U.S. military support for Israel. Incoming Michigan Rep. William Lawrence said that Democrats won a \u201cclear mandate\u201d to take on Big Tech, including data centers<\/a>, and to prevent endless wars, and he wants those issues to stay on \u201ctop of the agenda for 2028.\u201d Haaland told POLITICO ahead of Election Day she wants Democrats to “have a plan for Indian tribes.”<\/p>\n Their rise will influence the potential 2028 field\u2019s 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<\/a>, 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 \u2014 a necessary component of any 2028 bid.<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n Longtime Democratic Rep. Jim Clyburn (S.C.) is still expected to reprise his role<\/a> as the host and kingmaker<\/a>. But Andrews\u2019 and Lacore\u2019s massive upsets last Tuesday have supercharged Democrats\u2019 delegation in the state.<\/p>\n 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 \u201cmany\u201d 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.<\/p>\n 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 \u2014 and just recently with POLITICO<\/a>. It\u2019s not clear how the two newcomers will seek to shape 2028: Representatives for both campaigns declined to comment.<\/p>\n But Andrews, a pediatrician, made health care a central part of her campaign. And Lacore\u2019s focus on veterans\u2019 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\u2019s incoming delegation on Wednesday to plan how best to work together in Congress, according to a person familiar with the gathering.<\/p>\n Antjuan Seawright, a Clyburn adviser and Democratic strategist, said the three Palmetto State Democrats will likely have \u201cdifferent\u201d approaches to their involvement in the 2028 primary.<\/p>\n \u201cThe 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,\u201d Seawright said.<\/p>\n New Hampshire\u2019s elected Democrats have long wielded outsize influence over the party\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n Pappas started signaling his status as a power broker in the final days of the election, and was on Kelly\u2019s list of election-night phone calls.<\/p>\n \u201cWe 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,\u201d Pappas said on WMUR<\/a> in a post-election interview.<\/p>\n Pappas told POLITICO on Monday he would \u201ccertainly\u201d serve as an ambassador for candidates \u2014 and suggested there are \u201cpeople who want to certainly come back soon. I think it\u2019s going to kick off pretty quickly.\u201d<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n \u201cBoth of them are very campaign smart, and so their advice to any of the potential presidential candidates will be important,\u201d Demers said. \u201cI would expect they\u2019re going to be extremely popular and can be a big help to any of them who want help.\u201d<\/p>\n Michigan is already the epicenter of the Democratic Party\u2019s most polarizing fights<\/a> over policy and ideology. Now, the perennial battleground sits fifth in the presidential primary lineup.<\/p>\n Few have been so openly positioning themselves to join the ranks of the state\u2019s power brokers as El-Sayed, who declared even before his primary win that he would \u201cdog\u201d presidential hopefuls \u201cup and down the state\u201d<\/a> to embrace his progressive platform, including Medicare for All.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s important to me that I’ve got a governing partner,\u201d El-Sayed told POLITICO in a post-election interview. \u201cI’m going to do what I can to make sure that I get one.\u201d<\/p>\n El-Sayed could play a significant role in shaping the debate over Israel in a state that gave rise to the \u201cuncommitted\u201d movement in 2024 \u2014 and where he ran aggressively against U.S. military aid to the country.<\/p>\n 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<\/a> to \u201chaving a thoughtful conversation with\u201d El-Sayed on the topic.<\/p>\n \u201cI will be advocating for what I believe to be right, and clearly my state agrees with me on this issue,\u201d El-Sayed said, adding, \u201cIf you want to be where the voters are \u2014 if you want to be on the side of peace and on the side of justice and transparency \u2014 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.\u201d<\/p>\n Others are ready to engage with their party\u2019s future in a more neutral role. Jocelyn Benson, the moderate incoming governor, said in an interview that she will \u201ccertainly invite folks to come to our state to make their case to our residents.\u201d<\/p>\n The West will have its biggest role in the calendar yet, with New Mexico joining Nevada as early calendar stops.<\/p>\nFirst stop: South Carolina<\/h5>\n
Kicking the tires in New Hampshire<\/h5>\n
The progressive agenda in Michigan<\/h5>\n
Over in the West<\/h5>\n