Democrats open wide 2028 race after midterm victories

Democratic victories in the Nov 3 US midterm elections have opened a crowded and unpredictable race for the party's 2028 presidential nomination. No Democrat has emerged as a clear favourite, CNA reported, and the field could attract dozens of contenders while Republicans weigh a smaller group to succeed President Donald Trump.

CNA reported that Democrats' sweeping victories on Tuesday, Nov 3, were a sharp rebuke to Trump and his agenda. The results will intensify discussions within both parties about how to win over an electorate unhappy with the country's direction, it said. Trump is constitutionally barred from seeking a third term.

Potential Democratic candidates have spent months cultivating donors, visiting early nominating states and raising their profiles, CNA reported. They include former Vice-President Kamala Harris, who lost to Trump in 2024, California Governor Gavin Newsom, Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear, former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg and US Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York. Reuters contacted representatives for nine of the party's most prominent potential contenders and none confirmed a 2028 run, according to CNA.

CNA reported that the party remains divided over whether to move to the centre or further left on healthcare, taxes, policing and foreign policy. Democratic strategist Doug Sosnik said both progressives and moderates would claim vindication. "All kinds of wings of the Democratic Party can find affirmation in the results last night," Sosnik said. "I don't think that anyone can, nor should they, try to contain the differences we have as a party."

In Michigan, Democrat Abdul El-Sayed defeated Republican Mike Rogers in the Senate contest, becoming the first Muslim elected to the US Senate, CNA reported. CNA described Michigan as a likely 2028 presidential swing state. Nine days after the elections, Buttigieg and US Representative Ro Khanna of California are scheduled to attend a gathering in Denver hosted by Majority Democrats, a group backed largely by moderate Democrats and billionaire donor Steve Mandel. The group advocates younger party leaders and a more centrist platform, CNA reported. Its chair, US Representative Jake Auchincloss of Massachusetts, said the event is meant to spark a debate about the party's future and lay out an agenda for what the party is for, rather than just being anti-Trump.

Republicans face a different challenge, CNA reported: how to distance themselves from Trump after the repudiation of his policies while avoiding a break with the Make America Great Again movement. Vice-President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio are among the widely discussed Republican candidates, CNA reported. Dawn reported that the defeat was particularly stinging for Vance, who had been the frontrunner and now risks being seen as tied to a president in his final term. Dawn also named Georgia Senator Jon Ossoff as a rising Democratic star whose youth has drawn comparisons to former president Barack Obama.

Democratic strategist Scott Ferson said the primary could attract a huge number of candidates. "There are at least 30 Democrats who are saying to people close to them, 'Do you think I should run?'" Ferson said, according to CNA.