The Democratic Party is in a really bad spot for the 2028 election, as the person everyone thought would be the preferred candidate -- Kamala Harris -- continues to slip in polling.
The party is now leaning on California Gov. Gavin Newsom and former Treasury Secretary Pete Buttigieg as the frontrunners.
There was a lot of speculation that this situation might lead Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) to run for the White House again, but he has more or less dismissed the idea and finally appears ready to hand things over to someone else.
I honestly thought that when Sanders launched his “Fighting Oligarchy Tour,” it was going to be a springboard for him to run again in 2028.
Sanders’ website offered up the tour's mission statement.
“Over the course of the next few weeks, I'll be hitting the road to have real discussions across America on how we move forward to take on the Oligarchs and corporate interests who have so much power and influence in this country," it said.
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) has been accompanying Sanders on the tour, so there is, of course, speculation that she could also be launching a run.
The rise of NYC mayoral hopeful Zohran Mamdani within the party is being noticed, as we are now seeing numerous socialists running for local office in several major localities.
The nation, however, is dialed in on Mamdani, as this is clearly the biggest American city at risk of falling to socialism.
There is now a growing number of Democrats who support this message. For example, an Atlanta Democratic Party delegate identified as Nate K stated, "We need to run campaigns that win. Campaigns like Zohran Mamdani, which put forward a bold vision of a socialist society. Zohran shows that Palestine is a winning issue. That socialism is a winning issue."
He continued, "The time for protest campaigns and messaging is over. The time for winning is now. We can win the Democratic primary in 2028. There's polls now that show that a majority of the Democratic primary electorate supports Palestine and would want a Democratic socialist to win the presidential primary in 2028."
With his ideology seemingly growing in popularity among some, it would only seem natural for Bernie to lead it into the White House, but that does not appear to be happening.
Sanders, who would be 87 by the time we cast our votes in the 2028 election, when asked about running again, brushed the notion aside, appearing to point to someone new to take up the cause. He stated, “Oh, God. Let’s not worry about that. I am going to be 84 years of age next month, as a matter of fact. So I think that speaks for itself.”
The senator continued, “I want to see, obviously, the most progressive candidate that we can have … rally the grassroots of America. Will they stand up and fight for economic and social and racial justice? Absolutely. There are some great young people.”
Bernie may not be running, but if people like Mamdani and Katie Wilson of Seattle win their elections, he will surely be the kingmaker for Democrats in the upcoming cycle. Even though Buttigieg and Newsom are leading the pack right now, I still believe the true frontrunner has yet to be identified. These upcoming mayoral races will undoubtedly impact which direction the party ultimately goes.
