With No Clear Front-Runner, Democrats Begin Testing 2028 Presidential Waters

Some Democrats are beginning to make early moves toward the 2028 presidential race, with potential contenders stepping into key primary states months after former Vice President Kamala Harris’s loss to Republican President Donald Trump in 2024. Though none have officially declared candidacies, their travel and outreach are widely seen by strategists as early attempts to claim space in a race with no heir apparent. California Gov. Gavin Newsom spent July 8–9 touring rural South Carolina, a state that helped revive Joe Biden’s 2020 candidacy and remains a key proving ground for Democrats. Newsom joined the South Carolina Democratic Party’s “On The Road” tour through several counties as part of an effort to spotlight what party leaders called a contrast between Republican neglect and Democratic governance. State party officials said Newsom’s record leading the nation’s largest state made him a powerful messenger....