Vice President Kamala Harris lost by a wide margin to newly elected President Donald Trump in the 2024 presidential election, but if the 2028 election were to take place today, a significant margin of Democrats would vote for her again.
The vice president remains at the top of a list of Democratic potential 2028 candidates, according to a new poll, suggesting she continues to have high name recognition and party goodwill.
Harris leads the potential field with 41 percent of the vote, according to a Puck News/Echelon insights questionnaire.
But the majority of Democrats, 59 percent, would look for their future standard-bearer elsewhere, even if rising stars in their party don’t emerge in more than single digits.
Harris’ ‘frenemy’ of California Governor Gavin Newsom is in second place with eight percent.
Because Harris lost the election, Newsom traveled to the White House to meet with President Joe Biden and emphatically pledged that the state of California would oppose President-elect Donald Trump’s agenda.
But other Democratic governors remain in the early conversation about who could run for office in 2028.
Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro earned seven percent in the poll, a former vice presidential pick who was ultimately rejected by Harris as a running mate in favor of Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, who is polling at six percent.
Vice President Kamala Harris leads a list of Democrats who could run in the 2028 elections
Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg also remains on the list of potential candidates, as he sits at six percent.
Other possible candidates include Democratic Socialist Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez with four percent and Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer with three percent.
Bottom-tier candidates include Illinois Governor JB Pritzker, Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear, Colorado Governor Jared Polis and Maryland Governor Wes Moore.
Democratic senators in the conversation include Senator John Fetterman of Pennsylvania, Senator Cory Booker of New Jersey and Senator Raphael Warnock of Georgia.
California Governor Gavin Newsom ranks second in a recent poll on who should be the next Democratic standard bearer
Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer
US Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg speaks at a campaign party on election night
However, Trump is off to a good start with his ratings, even though he won’t be the next president until January.
According to the survey, Trump’s favorability rating now stands at 49 percent, which is two points higher than Harris’s, who has a 47 percent rating, and President Joe Biden’s, who is at 42 percent.
No matter how successful Trump is in his second term, he will not run for office again due to term limits.
Republicans are already eyeing newly elected Vice President JD Vance as their 2028 standard-bearer, with Vivek Ramasawmy, former South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley and Florida Governor Ron DeSantis in the running.
Other possible candidates included Senators Marco Rubio, Ted Cruz, Josh Hawley and Tim Scott.
Governors who also joined the conversation included Arkansas Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders, Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin, and South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem.
The poll of 1,010 likely voters included responses from 457 Democrats and 483 Republicans.