Who Will Lead the Democrats?
Author: Greg Valliere
February 7, 2025
IT’S NO EXAGGERATION to assert that the Democrats are in a state of panic, facing massive government layoffs and poor polls. They might be able to find friendly judges to delay Donald Trump’s spending reductions and tax cuts, but the Democrats have no stars and no agenda.
DEMOCRATS WE ENCOUNTER ON CAPITOL HILL think they can hammer away at Elon Musk and Trump, and they think the inflation threat has not subsided. But Democrats acknowledge that they need a leader, and they don’t have one.
BELIEVE IT OR NOT, SEVERAL DEMOCRATS are already exploring a run in in 2028. Here are the names we hear most frequently:
GAVIN NEWSOM: He’s charismatic but may never recover from the wildfires, urban crime and a big-spending agenda. He was in Washington this week and had a friendly meeting with Trump, but our sense is that the Newsom train has left the station.
GRETCHEN WHITMER: Within the party, the Michigan Governor is highly regarded — an excellent campaigner with a fairly moderate record. But gender is a tricky issue, as Kamala Harris and Hillary Clinton would attest.
JOSH SHAPIRO, the governor of Pennsylvania, is considered a likely candidate, as are several other governors: Andy Beshear of Kentucky, J.B. Pritzker of Illinois and Jared Bolis of Colorado. Maryland Gov. Wes Moore says he won’t run.
OTHER CANDIDATES include Pete Buttigieg, who almost certainly will run. And former North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper, moderate and personable, is a potential candidate. Kamala Harris gets mixed reviews within the party but may run if Newsom doesn’t.
OUR VERY EARLY prediction is that Sen. Mark Kelly of Arizona could be a serious candidate. A former astronaut and fighter pilot, Kelly is a moderate who, in our opinion, would have helped Harris far more than the eventual VP nominee, Tim Walz.
FOR NOW, THE DEMOCRATS JUST NEED a talking head who can litigate against Trump’s agenda and represent the party on the Sunday talk shows. If Democrats are looking for a serious and moderate candidate, they could do far worse than Kelly.
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