Pete Buttigieg Leads Kamala Harris For 2028 Dem Nomination, Poll Shows

A poll published Friday finds former Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg narrowly ahead of former Vice President Kamala Harris in preference for the 2028 Democratic presidential nomination.

Published by Emerson College Polling, the poll puts Buttigieg’s support at 16%, with Harris trailing behind at 13%. California Gov. Gavin Newsom follows slightly below Harris at 12%, before a steep dropoff to Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) at 7%.

Meanwhile, around a quarter of all respondents are still undecided.

This marks a major digression from earlier polls, which saw Harris maintain her position as the most favored Democratic candidate for 2028. Another Emerson College poll from November of 2024 put Harris at 37%, with Buttigieg only at 4%.

Whether Harris will run for president at all in 2028 is an open question. Reports have indicated she may run for governor of California, replacing term-limited Newsom. 

At a pre-Oscars party in March, Harris was asked when she would make a decision. According to two people in the conversation, she gave herself the deadline of “the end of the summer.”

In April, Harris told a crowd in Orange County, Calif., “I’ll see you out there. I’m not going anywhere.”

If Harris does run for governor, data suggests she would easily become a frontrunner. A February poll also from Emerson College finds 57% of Democratic voters would vote for her in a primary, miles ahead of the next candidate, former congresswoman Katie Porter, at 9%. 

A poll from University of California, Irvine found 41% of all voters would elect Harris over any GOP candidate, with 29% picking the GOP candidate, 14% saying they didn’t know, and 15% saying they would not vote.

Meanwhile, the race for the Republican 2028 presidential nominee is clearer. The Friday poll from Emerson College finds Vice President JD Vance at 46%, ahead of Secretary of State Marco Rubio at 12% and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis at 9%.