Who Will Lead the Democratic Party in 2028? The Battle for Leadership Begins

[Social Media]

 

"Giving up is not acceptable,” Bernie Sanders declared passionately at Lincoln High School in Warren, Michigan, as thousands of people gathered to hear him speak. The crowd spilled out of the gymnasium and into the parking lot, evidence of the veteran senator’s enduring appeal. Yet despite his ability to draw a crowd, the 83-year-old Sanders will not be the one to lead the Democratic Party back to power. The party remains divided and in search of a new direction.

 

In the absence of a unified Democratic effort, Sanders’ “Stop Oligarchy Tour” brought 9,000 people to a district of suburban Detroit that had voted for President Trump. “Let us never forget that real change…only occurs when ordinary people stand up against oppression and injustice and fight back,” Sanders told them. His calls for electoral funding reform, universal healthcare, free college tuition, and a higher minimum wage were met with applause. But the larger question loomed: Who will lead the Democrats in the years ahead?

 

The Democratic National Committee (DNC) has launched its own response, organizing town halls in nine vulnerable Republican districts, including Sanders’ chosen Michigan district. These efforts are an attempt to counter a Republican strategy that has seen GOP leaders limit public meetings due to viral confrontations with angry constituents over budget cuts. Yet many Democrats believe that rallies alone are not enough.

 

“There are a lot of folks looking for some sort of leadership,” said George Chapp, chairman of the Democratic Party in blue-collar Warren, Michigan. “Rallies are nice… but the changes that are taking place by Republicans and by Trump, they’re not having rallies doing this. They’re just doing it. So we have to think much differently, act much more creatively than we have in the past.”

 

 

Chapp and other activists had warned the party that Republicans had begun voter outreach in Michigan well ahead of the last election. But no serious Democratic counter-effort emerged. “Everything that’s happening right now on the Republican side, that was not done in a vacuum. It’s very methodically planned,” Chapp said. “Our work in opposition and our work in challenging what is happening has to be equally methodical.” His team is already preparing legal challenges to expected Republican cuts to public services, including education funding.

 

For now, the Democratic Party remains fractured, with multiple factions vying for influence. The progressive wing, which Sanders helped define, is represented by Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, who has joined him on his tour. Meanwhile, the moderate, pragmatic faction features leaders like Illinois Governor JB Pritzker, who is preparing to unveil alternative solutions to Trump’s policies. California Governor Gavin Newsom is positioning himself as a pragmatic progressive, while figures such as Pete Buttigieg, Minnesota Governor Tim Walz, Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer, Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro, and Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear all represent centrist leadership options. Each is expected to enter the crowded race for the 2028 Democratic nomination.

 

One uncertain figure is Kamala Harris, who failed to secure victory after stepping in for Joe Biden in 2024. She is reportedly writing a book about her campaign experience, and its content may determine her future. “She gets a payday either way, but only [a book that reinvents her] gets her a second shot at the presidency,” said Keith Urbahn, head of the literary agency Javelin.

 

In the meantime, Newsom appears eager to distance himself from his progressive past. He has launched a podcast and even invited right-wing figures Charlie Kirk and Steve Bannon to discuss political issues. “Gavin Newsom is trying to pivot away from the culture wars, an area where Democrats have been shooting themselves in the foot,” said Steven Greene, a political science professor at North Carolina State University. In a surprising move, Newsom even agreed with Kirk that it was “deeply unfair” for transgender athletes to compete in female sports.

 

His statements have drawn outrage from progressives. “There are kids waking up today in California with this news thinking that their governor hates them, and rightly so,” said Pramila Jayapal, leader of the Congressional Progressive Caucus. Others, like Ro Khanna, a congressman for Silicon Valley, are advocating for an economic-focused approach, urging Democrats to admit that globalized trade policies have “shafted the working and middle class.”

 

Among the centrists, Whitmer has sought common ground with Trump, saying she is willing to work with his administration on bringing jobs to Michigan. “I’m not looking for fights, but I won’t back down from them either,” she said. Meanwhile, Shapiro is using his passion for sports to connect with voters, serving as a guest commentator for college basketball games to appeal to young male voters drifting toward Trump. Beshear, a leading centrist, has openly criticized Newsom for giving Bannon a platform. “Steve Bannon espouses hatred and anger… I don’t think we should give him oxygen on any platform ever, anywhere,” he said.

 

Rahm Emanuel, Biden’s former ambassador to Japan, has taken a different approach, appearing on HBO’s Real Time with Bill Maher and joking about the Democratic Party’s struggles with identity politics. His remarks highlight a broader challenge for the party—how to navigate the culture wars without alienating key voter blocs.

 

Some Democratic strategists believe the party should avoid direct confrontation with Trump and let him self-destruct. “Play dead,” advised James Carville, a veteran political strategist. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries echoed this sentiment: “We’re not going to swing at every pitch.” Others, like former Virginia Governor Terry McAuliffe, remain optimistic that the political tide will turn. “The stuff Trump’s doing is crazy… Trump’s going to drive this economy into a ditch. We’ve just got to come out with our positive message… and we’ll be fine.”

 

However, grassroots activists like Chapp reject complacency. “I will tell you verbatim what I have told my membership: the cavalry is not coming. Do not expect a white knight on a white horse. It is not coming. It is us. So that’s why… until we see things emerge at the federal level, we at the local level have to take matters into our own hands.”

 

As the Democrats search for their next leader, the battle for the party’s future is already well underway.

 

Based on a report by The Times  2025-03-18

 

 

[BritManToo]

Kamala again obviously, the woke always double down. My second choice would be Megan Merkel.

[dinsdale]

Doesn't really matter IMHO. Their obsession with the progressive woke agenda helped Trump to victory. 1st thing they need to do is abandon this madness and move back toward  the centre and try and win back some of the voters they lost. They are in a total shambles. Trump will really need to get things very badly wrong for the Dems to stand any sort of a chance.

[jerrymahoney]

2 hours ago, Social Media said:

Some Democratic strategists believe the party should avoid direct confrontation with Trump and let him self-destruct. “Play dead,” advised James Carville, a veteran political strategist.

In the February 25, 2025 NY Times interview that this references, Carville said:

 

Allow the Republicans to crumble beneath their own weight and make the American people miss us. Only until the Trump administration has spiraled into the low 40s or high 30s in public approval polling percentages should we make like a pack of hyenas and go for the jugular. Until then, I’m calling for a strategic political retreat.

[Yagoda]

The only Democrat who isnt a hypocritical anti american, authoritarian loon is  Fetterman, and he is weird.