Former Vice President Kamala Harris is emerging as the leading candidate for the 2028 Democratic presidential nomination, with 50% of support among Democrats, up from 41% in March and 39% in January, according to a recent survey from the Center for American Political Studies and the Harris Poll.
Potential candidates and when primary voting begins
California Gov. Gavin Newsom comes in second at 22%, followed by Pennsylvania Gov, Josh Shapiro at 9%, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., at 8%, and Chicago Gov. J.B. Pritzker at 6%, according to the poll.
Potential candidates from both parties are already delivering their message to voters, even as the primary season remains more than a year away. Harris holds an early lead in the Democratic nomination race, according to Newsweek.
Usually, candidates do not announce their presidential campaigns until after the midterms. Harris has already run for president twice, first in 2020, and announced her run the year prior. While poll results do not determine the overall outcome, they indicate how strong these candidates are.
“These results, should they continue, can help Harris in getting campaign contributions and this becomes a further indication of Harris’ strength as a candidate,” Robert Y. Shapiro, professor of political science at Columbia University, told Newsweek. “But, again, other potential candidates may be getting increased approval among Democratic voters. Her advantage for now is name recognition.”
Harris called the Trump administration ‘corrupt,’ ‘incompetent’ and ‘callous’
Harris has been testing her message in key states like Michigan, South Carolina and Arkansas, and she has hinted at a run but never made an official announcement. However, since her loss to President Donald Trump in the 2024 presidential election, she has been very vocal about the actions he and his administration have taken since assuming office.
On Wednesday, Harris spoke at the Public Counsel’s William O. Douglas Award Dinner in Beverly Hills and called out the Trump administration. She also urged Democrats to fight back, especially after the Supreme Court weakened the Voting Rights Act, which would largely affect Black and brown districts nationwide, Variety reported.
“Before this decision this morning, people would ask me, ‘Well, do you think they’re going to try and cancel the elections?’ I don’t think so. Because if you thought no kings rallies were a thing, people would take to the streets if they tried to cancel elections,” Harris said in a conversation with actor Uzo Aduba at the event, according to Variety. “No, they have had an agenda that has been in place for decades, to get to this very moment and beyond which is to make it so difficult for the people to vote that they won’t, because they know the people are not stupid and see the corrupt, incompetent, callous administration that is in the White House right now, and they’re so damn scared. They’re so damn scared of losing the midterms.”