
The Democrats Have a 2028 Frontrunner
Author: Greg Valliere
July 22, 2025
THE DEMOCRATS HAVE A MODERATE, the candidate to watch — two-term Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear. We think Beshear, 47, is the party’s frontrunner.
BESHEAR has been the insiders’ favorite for the past year, largely because he has won elections in a state that has voted for conservatives Rand Paul and Mitch McConnell, two prominent Republicans. Beshear has been governor since 2019; he also was Attorney General. His father was governor before that.
“He’s a Bill Clinton Democrat without the baggage,’ one Democrat tells us. He has a touch of glamour — Beshear is scheduled to land on the cover of Vogue magazine later this summer.
THERE ARE A DOZEN OTHER LIKELY ENTRANTS — some on the left, like Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, or governors like Josh Shapiro (Pa.), JB Pritzker (Ill.) and Gretchen Whitmer (Mich.) likely to run in an enormous field. There’s not enough space to list all the likely candidates.
JD VANCE is the clear GOP frontrunner in a smaller field that probably will include Ron DeSantis, Marco Rubio, Glenn Youngkin and Donald Trump Jr., who could liven up the election.
THE 2026 ELECTION COMES FIRST — we think the Republicans will lose their tiny House majority, with the Senate too close to call. Republicans were looking good a month ago, as their Big Beautiful tax bill won enactment, but the Jeffrey Epstein scandal has done enormous damage to Trump and the Republicans.
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