A fun thing to try next time you find yourself with a Democratic strategist is to ask them if they think Kamala will run again in 2028, and then watch their body involuntarily contort – as if they are fighting to prevent their knee-jerk reaction from reaching their mouth, or perhaps just being hurled traumatically back to November of last year.
It is, of course, a perfectly valid question – and an increasingly topical one.
Later today, she’ll deliver a speech at the DNC’s Winter Meeting in Los Angeles, punctuating a week in which she announced 18 new events (many in “politically important territory”) on her 107 Days book tour – which will now stretch twice as long as its namesake campaign – and was profiled in a splashy NYT long-read headlined “Kamala Harris Isn’t Ready to Be Written Off.”
In one perfectly understated line of that profile, the Times’ Shane Goldmacher sums up Kamala’s comeback conundrum: “The elevator pitch of Ms. Harris’s ideology remains as elusive as ever.”
He also captures her unique and enduring support from Black voters; who else in the 2028 field could sell out 2,500-person theaters across the Deep South? Hell, some of them couldn’t sell out a living room.
Still, fair or not, Kamala’s ghostlike presence in the fight over the party’s future will continue to make many Dems shiver, so long as it lingers amorphously. And it may be a while; as Harris pointed out to Goldmacher, 2028 is “three years from nooooow.”
To be more specific, 2028 is – fittingly – exactly 107 weeks from now... Plenty of time to make one’s case, if one has a case to make.
Quick hits
Speaking of presidential books... On Jan. 27, you can pick up JOSH SHAPIRO’s new memoir, Where We Keep The Light: Stories From a Life of Service... On Feb. 24, grab GAVIN NEWSOM’s Young Man In a Hurry, which was ironically delayed at least twice from its original May 2025 release date. (FWIW, I’ve heard it’s legitimately good, and not your standard political book)... On June 16 comes RAPHAEL WARNOCK’s The Crooked Places Made Straight: Reflections on the Moral Meaning of America.
Beshear, Whitmer nab key roles. At a Democratic Governors Association confab in Phoenix this week that was abuzz with 2028 talk, ANDY BESHEAR & GRETCHEN WHITMER were respectively named Chair & Vice Chair of the DGA. That conveniently gives the two potential 2028ers prominent roles that call for traveling the country to boost fellow Dems & charm big donors. Past DGA Chairs include Bill Clinton, Michael Dukakis, Howard Dean, Bill Richardson, Tom Vilsack, Martin O’Malley, Steve Bullock, & Jay Inslee, all of whom went on to run for president.
“Come on!” –Eileen. After 28 years of GOP dominance, Miami elected Dem Eileen Higgins by a massive 20-point margin on Tuesday – and the 2028ers she welcomed help from down the stretch felt intentional. She posted a video endorsement from PETE BUTTIGIEG on Friday, then had RUBEN GALLEGO & RAHM EMANUEL on the trail. No Democratic Socialists were detected.
An overriding issue in Annapolis. WES MOORE called a special legislative session next week to appoint a new Speaker after Adrienne Jones stepped down. While redistricting isn’t on the docket, the MD Senate will consider overrides of two dozen Moore vetoes, including a bill to study reparations – he argues it’s time for continued action to remedy racial gaps, not more studies – which riled some Black leaders. He was pushed on the veto in a tough interview with Van Lathan & Rachel Lindsay last week; he managed it alright with his elite political athleticism, but it was tense. The full episode is worth watching – as is the Dec. 16 special session.
Building trust with the trustbusters. RUBEN GALLEGO introduced legislation to ban surveillance pricing. The bill was endorsed by leading anti-monopoly & consumer protection orgs who he’s been cultivating relationships with; those groups may prove important validators of his populist credentials, as Gallego – the top Dem on the Senate Banking Subcommittee on Digital Assets – has found himself crosswise with the left on crypto, among other issues.
Update on the 2028 primary calendar. I haven’t seen this reported anywhere, but after the window for states to apply for early-voting spots in the 2028 primary calendar closes on Jan. 16, the DNC Rules & Bylaws Committee (RBC) will meet on Jan. 31 in San Juan, PR to review those applications and determine which subset of states to invite to present their case to the RBC in May. The calendar likely won’t be finalized until the second half of 2026.
Microdoses
ELISSA SLOTKIN & MARK KELLY each formed legal defense funds as Trump weaponizes the FBI and Pentagon against them; the surge of death threats and media attention continue apace, including a new Vanity Fair profile of Kelly.
JOSH SHAPIRO has been doubling down on his bet that America will want a healer in 2028 with joint appearances with Gov. Spencer Cox (R-UT) that call to our better angels.
GAVIN NEWSOM has gained over 100,000 new contributors this year, and his team proactively shared that most came from outside CA… He also met privately with the NV & NH party chairs this week as the DNC convened in LA… Not that he has any national ambitions!
JB PRITZKER signed new legislation restricting immigration enforcement near courthouses, curbing information-sharing by hospitals, day cares, and colleges, and making it easier to sue immigration agents.
RAHM EMANUEL called for the US to follow Australia’s footsteps and ban kids under 16 from social media, the most aggressive stance of any 2028er to date; SLOTKIN, KELLY, & CHRIS MURPHY have all cosponsored legislation to ban kids under 13.
Former Transportation Secretary PETE BUTTIGIEG will speak at the Detroit Auto Show’s Mobility Global Forum on Jan. 14.
A new Yale Youth Poll underscores ALEXANDRIA OCASIO-CORTEZ’s strength with young voters; she doubles everyone else’s support among 18-34 year olds, despite trailing NEWSOM & HARRIS with the full electorate:
Highlights from the Big, Beautiful Tracker
GAVIN NEWSOM on The Ezra Klein Show and Jack Cocchiarella Show
PETE BUTTIGIEG on Jimmy Kimmel Live!
ELISSA SLOTKIN on Runaway Country with Alex Wagner
RUBEN GALLEGO on Raging Moderates with Scott Galloway & Jessica Tarlov
Time Capsule
Enjoy this JB Pritzker mailer from his 1998 congressional campaign; he lost to Rep. Jan Schakowsky, who still holds the seat. Kat Abughazaleh – who is now running for it – had not been born yet.
JB Pritzker 1998 Campaign Mailer, via Claude Walker
