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It appears to be game on in the race for the next Democratic presidential nomination, as two of the party’s most high-profile politicians, who are considered potential top-tier 2028 contenders, stirred more speculation at a major Democratic Party summit.
Former Vice President Kamala Harris, the Democrats’ 2024 standard-bearer after then-President Joe Biden exited the race, showcased an edgier stump speech as she railed against both major parties and the political status quo in an address at the Democratic National Committee’s (DNC) winter meeting this past weekend.
And California Gov. Gavin Newsom landed the red carpet treatment, as he mingled with delegates during the opening day of the DNC’s confab, which was held this year in Los Angeles, home turf to both Harris and Newsom.
The main focus for the hundreds of committee members and party officials who attended the summit was reviewing the party’s decisive victories in last month’s 2025 elections and better than expected performances in this year’s special elections, and training sessions to prepare for next year’s crucial midterm contests.
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But with the unofficial start of the next White House race less than a year away, and what’s likely to be a bruising battle among Democrats over the party’s presidential nominating calendar getting underway, 2028 was also in the spotlight.
“Obviously, we must focus on the midterms,” Harris said in her Friday speech. “But Democrats, we must also have a clear vision for what comes after the midterms. And then after Trump. We need to answer the question. We need to answer the question: what comes next for our party and our democracy?”
Harris argued that “both parties have failed to hold the public’s trust” and that “people are done with the status quo, and they’re ready to break things to force change.”
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And Harris, who was swept by President Donald Trump in all key battleground states in the 2024 election, said that Trump is representative of a bigger problem plaguing the nation’s politics.
“He and the rise of the MAGA movement, I believe, are a symptom of a failed system that is the result of years of outsourcing and offshoring, financial deregulation, growing income inequality, a broken campaign finance system and endless partisan gridlock all contributing to how we got here today,” she emphasized.
“The vice president received a very warm and enthusiastic reception,” a committee member told Fox News Digital.
And when she alluded to who would be in contention for the 2028 nomination, some in the room shouted “you.”
According to those in the room, Harris also landed a warm welcome less than 24 hours earlier as she spoke at the United Farm Workers annual gala.
Expect to see more of Harris in the new year, helping Democrats from coast to coast as the party works to win back congressional majorities in the midterms.
And Harris has added more 2026 stops to her book tour promoting “107 Days,” her reflections on her abbreviated 2024 presidential campaign. Among the stops is one in South Carolina, a crucial early-voting primary state in the Democratic Party’s presidential nominating calendar.
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While Newsom didn’t address the delegates at Friday’s general session, he was treated like a VIP on Thursday as he held meetings and mingled with delegates during the opening day of the Democratic National Committee’s (DNC) annual winter meeting, which this year is being held in Los Angeles.
A DNC committee member who witnessed the commotion told Fox News Digital, “Newsom received a rock star reception as he was mobbed by party leaders and activists alike while he attempted to walk from meeting to meeting.”
Newsom on Thursday met with the Democratic Party chairs from New Hampshire, the first-in-the-nation presidential primary state, and Nevada, another crucial early voting state.
“We had a great discussion on a wide range of issues,” longtime New Hampshire Democratic Party Chair Ray Buckley told Fox News Digital.
Newsom’s stature in his own party has soared this year, thanks to his very vocal and visual pushback against the president, including his viral social media trolling of Trump and his successful California push to counter the Republican congressional redistricting effort.
“Newsom has shown an ability to stand up to Trump in a bold and highly effective manner without shying away from core democratic values,” veteran Democratic strategist Joe Caiazzo told Fox News Digital.
While both Newsom and Harris made a splash at the DNC winter meeting, they’ve both got plenty of detractors who worry that neither would be electable in 2028 when the Democrats try to win back the White House.
And if one or both of them launch presidential campaigns, they’ll likely be joined by a large crowd of other contenders.
One of those possible White House hopefuls is Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker, who was also making the rounds during the opening day of the DNC meeting.
Fox News Digital confirmed that the billionaire governor helped raise over $1 million for the DNC at a fundraiser Thursday night.
A DNC insider said the appearances by Harris, Newsom and Pritzker gave “them an opportunity to start honing in on a winning message for Democrats in 2028.”
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There are more than a dozen other Democrats thought to be potential 2028 White House contenders. And most of them have also been paying visits to the early voting states, as well as parachuting onto the 2025 campaign trail.
Among them are Govs. Josh Shapiro of Pennsylvania, Andy Beshear of Kentucky, Wes Moore of Maryland and Gretchen Whitmer of Michigan; senators Cory Booker of New Jersey, Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota, Ruben Gallego and Mark Kelly of Arizona, and Chris Murphy of Connecticut; progressive superstar Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York and Rep. Ro Khanna of California, another leading progressive; and two moderate Democrats, former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg and former Chicago mayor and former White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel.
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