WASHINGTON (TNND) — As Democrats struggle to understand what went so wrong in the 2024 election that saw Donald Trump win a second term in the Oval Office, they are also trying to determine who will be the party’s next standard bearer it will be as President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris prepare to leave office early next year.

Few numbers rule out the possibility of running in the next cycle, as the party is still trying to understand what led to Harris’ campaign failure. one of the seven swing states and become the first Democratic campaign close to losing the popular vote in 20 years.

Trump won a convincing victory in the Electoral College, although his margins were relatively slim in most of the seven battlegrounds that decided the election. Almost all of them were decided by three percentage points or less, but still resulted in a convincing victory for Trump and rejection of the presidency of Joe Biden and the Democratic ticket.

Democrats are trying to chart a new course to bring enough people back into their coalition once the 2028 cycle hits and Republicans don’t have Trump at the top of their list. While this raises questions about what the platform will be, the question of who will lead it is perhaps the biggest question the party will face.

More than a dozen names have been circulating as potential 2028 candidates, from established figures with national profiles to those on Harris’ short list for vice president and other current senators and lawmakers in the Bedroom. It’s just speculation at this point, but there are also reports of Democratic figures beginning to organize fundraising operations and field calls from operatives encouraging them to run for higher office .

“You will find people who will try to chart the path forward for a new Democratic Party. I’m not convinced – that we don’t even know who the favorite is right now. Time passes so quickly in these things. There’s probably someone who’s not even on anyone’s radar right now who will be in the top three and surprise us all,” said Rob Alexander, a political science professor at Bowling Green.

California Governor Gavin Newsom is considered a frontrunner with high profile, a massive fundraising and political operation and a position that will give him the opportunity to repeatedly take on the new Trump administration, like what was seen with the GOP. led Florida and Texas during Biden’s term. He has also shown a willingness and ability to speak out on conservative-leaning networks and shows, frequently appearing on Fox News and debating Florida Governor Ron DeSantis as part of his surrogacy for the Democratic ticket as the Republicans were still in the primary stage.

Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro, a popular incumbent in a swing state who was also considered Harris’ running mate, is also frequently mentioned as a future presidential candidate. Some Democratic operatives have wondered whether having Shapiro on the list might have helped Harris in the battlegrounds of the Midwest, although he is still a newcomer on the national scene as governor in his first term.

Other Democrats who were tapped for vice president, like Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear, Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker, and Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, as well as the man who was tapped for the position, Minnesota Governor Tim Walz, are also possibilities in what should happen. will be a crowded field in four years.

Harris could also run for the nomination again after hitting a few percentage points in a handful of states that could have sent her to the White House. It remains to be seen what role she will play in the party’s evolution, although she hinted that she saw herself as a leader of her movement in her concession speech the day after the election.

The 2028 primaries will likely be crowded, as was the case in 2020, and include a wide range of political parties, from moderate Democrats to progressives, as the party recalibrates its policy platform over the next four years in response to the second presidency and to Trump’s numbers. how to recover the main electoral blocs who voted Republican in 2024.

Trump made significant gains with several voter blocs that played a crucial role in Democratic victories in previous cycles, winning more support from Latino voters, the American working class and young people . He also performed better in several deep blue states like New York and New Jersey compared to his first two campaigns which raised questions about whether the Democratic tilt toward electorates in those states was beginning to change.

“One of the questions I have is whether or not this is a Trump phenomenon, or is it a more sustainable phenomenon? This is an important issue that will need to be resolved over the coming years. So is this a question where Democrats are trying to find their own Trump-style candidate, someone who is truly on the outside, who hasn’t risen through the party ranks? said Alexander.