Aug.07

electoral-vote.com

Dem 47

   

GOP 53

Democratic Presidential Field--As Viewed from the Right

We are in the process of reviewing a large number of potential Democratic presidential candidates, trying to give a realistic evaluation of each one. Of course, other sites are running their versions of the 2028 list as well. It is interesting to see how right-wing sites view the Democratic field, just to get some perspective. RedState ran its rundown earlier this week. Here is an edited summary of it using their own words (plus our comments in square brackets).

• Kamala Harris: She was and is a particularly poor candidate. Her recent appearance on "Colbert" was another cringe-fest. In the 2020 cycle, she embarrassed herself while running for president. In 2024, she was given the nomination and embarrassed herself again. [...] The Democrat leadership understands this, so in 2028, they will not be working to help her, meaning that she will have to rely on whatever skills she currently possesses and her diverse background. Even with the current Democrat DEI mania, it shouldn't be enough.
  
  [V & Z: There's a lot of latent hostility here. Wow. But RedState is right that the Democrats will not be all-in on Harris this time, or anything close to it. All the other primary candidates are going to scream: "She couldn't even beat a terrible, awful loser. We need new blood."]
  
  
• Cory Booker: Booker is clearly preparing for another run for president. [...] This time, he has vowed to be the angry candidate, as he has shown in his filibuster-that-was-not-a-filibuster, and his speech condemning his party for its supposed "complicity" with Donald Trump. [...] as an African American U.S. senator from a large state, he meets the necessary diversity requirement for Democrats.
  
  [V & Z: We doubt the Democrats will run a Black candidate as #1, but maybe as #2. Obama he is not.]
  
  
• Gavin Newsom: The Democrats refused to budge until Biden's senility was revealed in the debate, and even when Biden was finally pushed aside, Harris and others used her diverse background to claim the nomination. In 2028, Newsom will no longer have his perch as governor, and with still no diversity in his background, he will be an afterthought in the crowded 2028 presidential race.
  
  [V & Z: Newsom's problem is that he is an opportunist and that is obvious. He is now trying to erase every stand he has taken for the past 6 years. That won't work too well.]
  
  
• Pete Buttigieg: Buttigieg is a telegenic candidate, a veteran, and as a gay man, he has the necessary diversity to make a run for the Democrat nomination. However, as a gay man, he also faces a major weakness with Black Democrats, who make up a huge portion of the voting base in crucial primary states, and his record as Transportation secretary is rather weak and easily exploited by his opponents.
  
  [V & Z: Buttigieg was foolish not to have run for the open Senate seat in his new home state of Michigan. He could have won and after a couple of terms in the Senate, would be a much stronger candidate. But 2028 is not his year.]
  
  
• J.B. Pritzker: The governor of Illinois thinks he should be president, and as a billionaire, he has the money to make a run for it. But that is the end of his positives. He is not diverse; being Jewish doesn't count with Democrats, and is, in fact, a negative. Pritzker is likely to run in 2028, but he is unlikely to gain much traction.
  
  [V & Z: We agree. 2028 is not his year. Nor is 2032, 2036, or any other year. If he had run for Sen. Dick Durbin's (D-IL) seat, he might have won it. An awful lot of politicians with giant egos who could win Senate seats or governors' mansions took a pass because those jobs are beneath their dignity. It's stupid. Being a senator or governor isn't like being a janitor or something. Those are important, powerful jobs.]
  
  
• Josh Shapiro: The governor of Pennsylvania was the obvious pick for vice president by Kamala Harris in 2024, so, of course, she didn't choose him. Shapiro was just too Jewish, and once spoke out in favor of Israel, and the Democrat base simply will not tolerate that. Despite his long-time success in a crucial, large Mid-Atlantic state, Shapiro likely has little chance in 2028.
  
  [V & Z: Probably not him, but those 19 electoral votes he has in his pocket look awfully attractive. He would also play well in Michigan and Wisconsin. He would certainly be veep material if the #1 is a woman.]
  
  
• Andy Beshear: The governor of Kentucky is reportedly considering a national race, and he is the type of young, male, Southern "moderate" Democrat that has been notably successful in the past in winning the presidency after a Republican president—see Carter, Jimmy, and Clinton, Bill. As such, he now has no future in the DEI Democrat party. Next.
  
  [V & Z: RedState is worried. Beshear is precisely the kind of candidate who has proven to be a winner. The Democrats want to win very badly. He is definitely a serious candidate, along with a female veep.]
  
  
• Gretchen Whitmer: Whitmer has won two solid victories in a crucial, large Midwestern state and is an attractive woman. Her problem if she runs in 2028, is going to be that she will, by then, be a former governor with no political perch to stake her claim among the other potential Democrat candidates.
  
  [V & Z: If anything, she will have more time to campaign once she is out of office. She and Beshear, in either order, could be a potent combination.]
  
  
• Ruben Gallego: As a prominent Hispanic senator, who won solidly at the same time as Donald Trump was easily carrying his crucial southwestern battleground state, Gallego could be a strong candidate. His House record was solidly to the left, which is an advantage for a Democrat presidential nomination race. As a new (national) face, he could go far, assuming he can raise the money.
  
  [V & Z: RedState is really worried and forgot to mention that he also has a postgraduate degree from Harvard, which will play well with college-educated Democrats in the primary, and he also served in combat in Iraq in the Marine Corps, which will play well with white working-class men. He is also telegenic and a good speaker. Gallego/Whitmer '28 would be a generational change and a young, attractive, vigorous ticket.]
  
  
• Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez: She has the diverse background that Democrats love. She is the leader of the socialist Democrat Squad, which has all the energy and momentum in the Democrat Party. She is also very attractive, which clearly drives her popularity with Democrats (for much the same reason that Sydney Sweeney is popular with the general public). She is also as dumb as a rock. But this will not hinder her in a potential run for the Democrat nomination, where she could be a strong contender.
  
  [V & Z: She is not dumb as a rock. She is a very smart and talented politician. In fact, we think she is so smart that she knows challenging Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY) in 2028 makes a lot more sense for her. He will be 84 at the end of another term and the Democrats want generational change. After a couple of terms in the Senate, she will have more gravitas for a presidential run.]
  
  
• Ro Khanna: A U.S. congressman from California, Khanna is making all the right moves to run for president in 2028 as a Democrat. He is running to the left on issues, like catering to the antisemites, and building up a huge campaign war chest. As a man of Indian descent, he clearly meets the Democrat diversity requirement. However, unlike AOC, he leads no major faction of the party, and jumping from the U.S. House to the U.S. presidency is a tough jump to make.
  
  [V & Z: Khanna has no chance at all in such a strong field. He has no business running for president at all. He won't last 3 months.]

The writer overrelies on flabby right-wing stereotypes of Democrats, like "They are all antisemites." The most obvious manifestation of his Republican-bubble-driven assessments is that he greatly overestimates the need to be diverse—that is, anything but a straight white Christian man. Democrats will be desperate to win in 2028 and the candidate who best makes the case: "I can beat Vance/DeSantis/Rubio/Youngkin/Kemp/whomever" will get the nomination, no matter his or her ideology or background. One long shot not on the list is Mark Cuban. Some Democrats might prefer an outspoken billionaire outsider, a kind of "our Trump." (V)