Still reeling from Kamala Harris’s defeat to Donald Trump in the 2024 election, Democrats are already looking ahead to 2028 and assessing potential candidates for the White House. While some believe Harris deserves another shot, others are calling for a change of direction and new blood. The race appears to be wide open but state governors feature prominently because of their executive experience and ability to combat Trump’s policies. Here are a dozen of the leading contenders:
Andy Beshear
The son of a popular former Kentucky governor, Beshear has won three statewide elections in the deeply red state – once for attorney general and twice as governor. He responded to Democrats’ defeat in the 2024 election by writing in the New York Times that they can win back voters by focusing on core issues – good jobs, affordable healthcare, education, public safety, and good roads and bridges. He is chair-elect of the Democratic Governors Association for 2026 – meaning he will take on a leading role in efforts to win governorships in the midterm elections.
Age: 47
Current position: Governor of Kentucky
Pete Buttigieg
Buttigieg speaks eight languages, had spells at Harvard, Oxford and McKinsey, and did military service in Afghanistan. He won the Democratic presidential caucuses in Iowa in 2020 and is praised for his communication skills and ability to connect with voters, especially on the conservative Fox News network. The Indiana native recently became a Michigan resident. But some Democrats may doubt whether America is ready to elect its first openly gay president.
Age: 42
Current position: Transportation secretary
Kamala Harris
Despite her bitter loss, Harris remains a contender. Her defenders argue that she was hampered by inheriting Biden’s campaign with only 107 days left and note that she still came within 1.5% of Trump in the national popular vote. They also point to the experience she gained from running a national campaign. Critics note that she fell short despite spending more than $1bn and that defeated Democrats do not tend to get a second chance. Coupled with Hillary Clinton’s 2016 loss, the party may be wary of nominating another woman so soon.
Age: 60
Current position: Vice-president
Wes Moore
Maryland’s first Black governor is considered a rising star in the Democratic party. Moore is an army veteran, Rhodes scholar and former chief executive of the Robin Hood Foundation, a charity that tackles poverty in New York. Advocates say he has the natural charisma to make a credible presidential run. But, in August, Moore claimed he made “an honest mistake” in failing to correct a White House fellowship application 18 years ago when he wrote he had received a Bronze Star for his military service in Afghanistan, though he only actually received it earlier this month.
Age: 46
Current position: Governor of Maryland
Chris Murphy
Murphy has been in the Senate since 2013 and is active in several policy areas, particularly healthcare, foreign policy and gun safety legislation, spurred by the 2012 Sandy Hook elementary school shooting in Newtown, Connecticut. Murphy has gained attention with passionate speeches on the Senate floor and direct engagement on social media. After Democrats’ crushing defeat in November, he tweeted: “Time to rebuild the left. We are out of touch with the crisis of meaning/purpose fueling MAGA. We refuse to pick big fights. Our tent is too small.”
Age: 51
Current position: Senator for Connecticut
Gavin Newsom
As governor of California, Newsom is known for progressive policies on climate change, healthcare, gun control and criminal justice reform. With a sharp tongue and telegenic looks, Newsom has built a national profile as a top surrogate for Biden and by challenging Trump and, in a televised debate in 2023, Florida’s governor, Ron DeSantis. He would benefit from a strong fundraising network and is making moves to position himself as a leader of the anti-Trump resistance. Trump has branded him “Governor Gavin Newscum” while DeSantis called him “a slick, slippery politician whose state is failing”.
Age: 57
Current position: Governor of California
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez
Ocasio-Cortez, a founding member of “the Squad” of progressives in the House of Representatives, is the political heir to Senator Bernie Sanders, who enthused the party’s left wing in the 2016 and 2020 primaries. But she has also recently proved loyal to party leadership and was a staunch supporter of Biden and Harris. Supporters praise her star power, mastery of social media and ability to connect with working-class voters – though Republicans would relish the chance to cast her as a radical socialist.
Age: 35
Current position: US representative for New York’s 14th congressional district
Jared Polis
Polis is America’s first openly gay governor. Columnist George Will observed that Polis’s sexuality was “interestingly uninteresting” to voters in the 2018 gubernatorial election. The former five-term congressman received more attention for the fortune he built as a tech entrepreneur and his libertarian streak: he broke from other Democrats during the Covid-19 pandemic by pushing back against mask and vaccine mandates. Colorado bucked the national trend and largely moved left in the 2024 election.
Age: 49
Current position: Governor of Colorado
JB Pritzker
Pritzker, a billionaire heir to the Hyatt Hotel chain with strong fundraising capabilities, is working to “Trump-proof” his state, warning: “You come for my people, you come through me.” As governor, he signed a law to raise the minimum wage to $15 as well as several reproductive rights bills. He has built relationships through his national non-profit but his wealth could prove an achilles heel among Democrats seeking to embrace economic populism.
Age: 59
Current position: Governor of Illinois
Josh Shapiro
With a history of winning three statewide elections in Pennsylvania, Shapiro was seen as a possible running mate for Harris but lost out to Minnesota’s governor, Tim Walz. Shapiro is already receiving calls from Democratic party leaders in Pennsylvania urging him to run for the White House, Politico reported. Critics on the left worry about his support for a private school voucher programme and for Israel’s war in Gaza. If elected, he would be America’s first Jewish president.
Age: 51
Current position: Governor of Pennsylvania
Raphael Warnock
Warnock has championed progressive policies such as healthcare expansion, environmental protection and voting rights. He is the first member of his family to graduate from college and became head pastor of the Atlanta church where Martin Luther King preached. An inspiring orator, he often highlights his upbringing in poverty and his journey to becoming the first Black senator elected from conservative Georgia. He once said: “Only in America is my story even possible.”
Age: 55
Current position: Senator for Georgia
Gretchen Whitmer
Whitmer has a successful record in a swing state and gained national attention in 2020 when she feuded with Trump over Covid-19 pandemic federal assistance and survived a foiled kidnapping attempt. Trump called her “that woman from Michigan”. Jocelyn Benson, Michigan’s secretary of state, told NBC News: “People love her, even if they disagree with her. She has that unique combination of grit and grace – a workhorse who genuinely cares about people and doesn’t back down from a fight. She has what it takes to bring people together and lead our country.”
Age: 53
Current position: Governor of Michigan
• This article was amended on 26 December 2024. An earlier version said that Wes Moore had never received his military Bronze Star; however, he did receive it earlier in December 2024.
