Possible surprise candidate in 2028 presidential race

We all expected Kamala Harris to come out of the 2024 election cycle as the favorite for the 2028 cycle, as Dems rallied around her, refusing to believe she was responsible for her loss.

There has been quite a bit of movement in the party since then, and while Harris is still the polling leader, her massive lead is now gone.

Not only that, but some new names are being tossed into the hat.

Polling

In a recent poll, Harris was still clearly the frontrunner, but her support had cracked significantly.

Harris was down to 26%, about half of what she had been immediately after the election.

There were two major surprises in the rest of the field, both of whom made big moves to fly up the ladder.

The first was Pete Buttigieg, who was now in second place at 11%. The second was Governor Gavin Newsom, who was now sitting at 10%, a big move from his previous poll.

Polymarket

Some people have dismissed traditional polling and are now looking at Polymarket as a real indicator of where the people stand.

The betting platform has installed JD Vance as the frontrunner with 27% support. But that is not the real story here.

Gavin Newsom was in second place, sitting at 14%, showing that Democrats still have a lot of work to do if they expect to take back the White House in 2028. AOC was third at 10%, followed by Buttigieg at 8%.

Governor Ron DeSantis was not even in the top five, as it was Secretary of State Marco Rubio who filled out the field at 6%. As far as Harris goes, well, she slipped all the way down to ninth place.

Surprise Candidate

At this rate, I would be highly surprised if Harris decided to run, as she has to know she needs to rebuild her profile if she is going to have any chance at the White House.

If Harris is out, that will likely open the door, with my main pick for Dems to be Newsom, and my dark horse candidate being Rep. Ro Khanna (D-CA), who I think would be a real problem if he decides to run.

Now, however, a new name is getting some buzz, that being Senator Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), who is refusing to rule out a run. When Tapper asked her if she was ruling out a 2028 run, she stated simply, “No.”

Then Klobuchar did the usual sidestepping, saying how everyone just needed to stay focused on the 2026 election and support their candidates as well as working on getting the Democrat approval rating up, which is now down in the 20s. The GOP is only in the 30s in most polls, showing that Democrats had a golden opportunity, yet they are wasting it with no clear leadership. If Trump and the GOP can get past this little hiccup, they could defy the odds and history by holding the House in the midterm elections.