Who will run for president in 2028? The favorites with an eye on becoming the Democratic candidate

Democrats are soul searching after Vice President Kamala Harris devastating loss to Donald Trump in the presidential election and a series of down-ballot defeats that handed Republicans Senate control and potentially the House.

The Republican presidential ticket is on track to sweep every single swing state in the election, the popular vote and it made gains with nearly every demographic and in every region of the U.S. since 2020.

Exit polling from the election shows 73 percent of voters were angry or dissatisfied with the direction the country is headed in. 

The finger pointing in the Democratic party over what went wrong is well underway. 

Strategists, lawmakers and party staffers are blaming everything from Democrats messaging and a failure to speak to working class voters to President Bidens late exit from the race. 

There have also been questions over the role sexism played against Harris chances in the race.

I dont think this is a campaign, candidate specific thing, said Democratic strategist Joel Payne. This is a long term kind of theory of the coalition, theory of the offering to the public that weve got to correct, that weve got to reform.

On top of calls for a course correction, there is now uncertainty over who will lead the party through the next four years and gear up for another fight to retake the White House in 2028. 

Speculation has already begun over who could lead Democrats and run for president in 2028 after the brutal 2024 election with Donald Trump beating Kamala Harris

Democratic governors and Attorneys General are already bracing to push back on some of President-elect Trumps most extreme agenda proposals. 

But which leaders will be able to unify the party and potentially run in 2028 remains to be seen. 

Here are the names being floated as key Democratic players for the next election season as the party assesses and regroups: 

Gov. Andy Beshear

Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear is a Democrat who was reelected twice to lead in a red state, first in 2019 and then again in 2023.

The 46-year-old, who also previously served as Kentuckys Attorney General, was once floated as a potential running mate for Harris when she locked in the Democratic nomination earlier this year. 

Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear with his wife Britainy after being reelected for a second term in the deeply red state of Kentucky

On Wednesday, he vowed to continue to stand up for what is right and acknowledged the path forward in the coming days will be hard. 

There isn’t a red America or a blue America, and we all need to work together to protect this country that we love, he wrote. 

Gov. Josh Shapiro

Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro is another name that has been floated as a future leader of the Democratic party. 

Many had hoped he would be Harris running mate and could lock in the state of Pennsylvania where he remains popular among both Democrats and Republicans since being elected in 2022. 

 Shapiro remained gracious despite being overlooked for the vice presidential spot on the ticket and actively campaigned for Harris throughout his state. 

The 51-year-old is also someone who has a track record of going up against the Trump administration and its policies as the former Attorney General of the Keystone State from 2017 to 2022. 

Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro speaking ahead of Kamala Harris in Philadelphia on November 4. Hes no stranger to taking on the Trump administration having served as the states Attorney General during the President-elects first term

After the election results came in on Tuesday, he released a statement that he will continue to listen to Pennsylvanians, show respect for their choices and work to bring people together. 

Let me also make clear: I will never back down from standing up for the freedoms I was elected to protect, it read.

 Maryland Gov. Wes Moore

Maryland Governor Wes Moore has been described by some pundits as the next Obama. 

The 46-year-old Army veteran and Rhodes Scholar was first elected governor in 2022 after serving as CEO of the charitable organization the Robin Hood Foundation during the coronavirus pandemic. 

Moore was another Democratic leader to hit the campaign trail with other governors to help Harris and down-ballot candidates in swing states. 

Maryland Gov. Wes Moore speaking to supporters at an election night watch party on Nov. 5. He helped elect Senator-elect Angela Alsobrooks in his home state and campaigned for other Democrats across the country

After the election, Moore praised Harris for the campaign she ran and acknowledged Trumps victory, but he also made a promise to the people of his blue state that his administration remains committed to leave no one behind and will continue to move forward as a state. 

Georgia Sen. Raphael Warnock

Senator Raphael Warnock of Georgia knows how to win the battleground state having won it twice in the past four years having been elected in a special election in 2020 and to a full term in 2022. 

Prior to running for office, Warnock served as a senior pastor at the Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta which is the same church where Martin Luther King Jr. once served.

Warnock was the first black person elected to represent Georgia in the Senate.  

Senator Raphael Warnock at a campaign rally on October 24. The Georgia senator has won the swing state twice in recent years after first being elected in 2020

He aggressively campaigned  for Harris in Georgia as well as other Democratic Senate candidates running across the country. 

Despite Democrats losing the Senate majority, Warnock will remain a major player in Washington as Democrats push back on the Trump agenda in Washington in the new year.

Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer

Governor Gretchen Whitmer leads a so-called blue wall state and will likely play a role in examining how Democrats lost their advantage in the states they once had locked in. 

The 53-year-old was first elected governor in 2018 during the Trump administration by focusing on the local needs of her state including the roads and was reelected again in 2022. 

 She was among a group of Democratic governors who campaigned furiously for Harris across swing state in 2024 as well as for Elissa Slotkin in the Michigan Senate race, who was able to come out on top in that race despite Trump winning the state. 

Governor Gretchen Whitmer  at a rally in Detroit  on October 22. The Michigan Democrat knows how to win the state in recent years despite Trump turning it red in 2016 and 2024

Whitmer praised Harris for running an incredible campaign despite the loss and congratulated Trump on his victory. 

She called for unity looking ahead, writing let’s root for the success of the new administration and keep working together to get things done. Because we’re Americans—that’s what we do.

Sen. Chris Murphy

Connecticut Chris Murphy was elected to his third term in the November election after first being elected to the Senate in 2012. 

Previously, the 51-year-old also served in the House since 2007 and in the Connecticut state legislature. 

The senator has been one of the leading advocates for gun control reform in the House having represented the district where the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting took place. 

He also serves on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. 

Connecticut Senator Chris Murphy speaking during a debate. He was just reelected for a third term

The senator had his own take on the 2024 election results. He said he is all for the messaging and strategy biopsy. 

But he said Democrats need to be ready for Trumps actions once he takes office writing  on X he might not be lying about the round ups and political prosecutions. Job one is to get ready for that.

Former Mayor Mitch Landrieu

Former New Orleans Mayor Mitch Landrieus name was floated by Democratic strategist and fellow Louisianan James Carville. 

Landrieu served as the mayor of the city from 2010 to 2018 and as Louisianas lieutenant governor  from 2004 to 2010. 

Former New Orleans Mayor Mitch Landrieu served in the Biden administration to implement the bipartisan infrastructure deal. He also was Bidens campaign co-chair

More recently, he worked in the Biden administration to coordinate and advise on the bipartisan infrastructure deal. 

The former mayor also served as the co-chair of the Biden reelection campaign.