(TNND) — The 2028 presidential election cycle won’t rev up until after this fall’s midterm elections, but that isn’t stopping speculation over who might run.

The Washington Post published new rankings of potential presidential candidates, with Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio leading the way on the Republican side and Arizona Sen. Mark Kelly, California Gov. Gavin Newsom and Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro topping the list on the Democratic side.

Those five men formed the top tier of potential candidates, which the Post labeled “standouts.”

Todd Belt, the Political Management program director at George Washington University, said the Republican field is relatively top-heavy compared with the Democratic side. Either Vance or Rubio is likely to be the front-runner for the GOP, though Belt doesn’t expect them to run against each other.

“Rubio has said if Vance wants to run, he will endorse him and will not run,” Belt said.

Oklahoma State University politics professor Seth McKee said both Vance and Rubio have their political fortunes tied to President Donald Trump, and McKee said either could pay the price in 2028 if voters see the current administration as a failure. That’s a risk, with Trump’s approval rating underwater in poll after poll.

McKee said the Democrats already see 2028 as an opportunity, and he expects a “ginormous” field of candidates, especially if Democrats win big in the midterms.

Unlike the Republican side, McKee said there is no standard-bearer for Democrats.

McKee said the Democrats’ bench is deepest with their governors.

“I think the interesting dynamic on the Democratic side is the inside-the-Beltway versus the governors,” he said. “And there’s just more talent in the governor’s lane than there is in terms of the inside-the-Beltway, congressional lane, if you will.”

Below the first tier of potential Republican contenders, the Post listed “middle of the pack” candidates Nikki Haley, Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky, Rep. Thomas Massie of Kentucky, Texas Sen. Ted Cruz, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and even Donald Trump Jr.

The Post offered a long list of “middle of the pack” candidates on the Democratic side: former Vice President Kamala Harris, former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker, Maryland Gov. Wes Moore, Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear, and any number of U.S. senators.

The Democratic senators mentioned by the Post as potentially having White House aspirations were Cory Booker of New Jersey, Elissa Slotkin of Michigan, Jon Ossoff or Raphael Warnock of Georgia, Chris Murphy of Connecticut, and Ruben Gallego of Arizona.

The Post mentioned Tucker Carlson or another media celebrity as a “dark horse” candidate on the Republican side.

Similarly, the Post mentioned ESPN commentator Stephen A. Smith or another celebrity as a “dark horse” candidate on the Democratic side, along with former Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel and some House lawmakers, including New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez or California Rep. Ro Khanna.

Emerson College Polling released last week had Vance and Rubio neck and neck as top contenders for the Republican nomination, each with just over a third of the support. DeSantis and former United Nations Ambassador Haley were next, both tied at 5% support. Fifteen percent of people in the Emerson poll were undecided about the Republican candidates.

Buttigieg led the field on the Democratic side in the Emerson poll with 18% support, followed by Newsom, Ocasio-Cortez, Shapiro, Harris and Beshear.

Belt said he was surprised by the inclusion of Kelly in the top tier of Democratic contenders in the Post’s ranking, because he’s not on many people’s radar. Kelly, a former astronaut from a swing state who drew Trump’s ire when he and other Democratic lawmakers posted a video telling troops that they did not have to follow “illegal orders,” wasn’t even included in the Emerson polling, Belt noted.

Belt expects many of the officials on the Post ranking to eventually throw their hats into the ring for 2028.

On the Republican side, Belt expects Trump to remain a dominant force. But he said there could be a battle brewing between Republicans who want the U.S. to take a more isolationist approach and those who want the U.S. to adhere to a more traditional international role.

McKee said an opportunity could emerge for a Republican who is not tightly tied to the administration if the midterms and the next couple of years go poorly for Trump in the eyes of voters.

And McKee suggested that Rubio could decide to let Vance carry the Republican banner in a difficult election cycle, preserving his own political capital for a future run.

Belt said Harris, the former vice president and 2024 Democratic candidate, deserved to be in the top tier of the Post’s ranking. But he’s also not convinced that Harris will run again.

Belt said there could be a “draft Beshear kind of movement” on the Democratic side, as he’s seen as a strong candidate with folksy appeal who’s won in a red state.

McKee said Newsom is almost a shoo-in to run, but he’s not sure that Newsom’s political style will resonate with voters across the country.

“Newsom’s got all kinds of problems,” McKee said. “And I think defending California is always a problem.”

McKee said Newsom could struggle to make his case with voters if they see other Democratic governors with more moderate reputations on the ballot.

Shapiro, the Pennsylvania governor who is running for reelection this year, is “a super strong candidate,” McKee said. And he comes from the most important swing state in the country, McKee said.

The only electoral challenge for Shapiro might be his Jewish faith in the eyes of some voters, McKee said.

“I don’t think it ever helps to not be a Christian candidate, if you will, even in this day and age,” McKee said.

Belt expressed skepticism about the Post listing TV personalities as “dark horse” candidates.

But he did say a “miscellaneous billionaire” could emerge as a dark horse candidate.

“There’s always going to be a billionaire who thinks that they can do it, probably on both sides, so you’d have to watch out for that,” Belt said.

Belt said candidates will probably start announcing their runs in December, once the midterms are in the books.

It’s still early to be talking about leaders in the clubhouse, but Belt said donors and consultants are already paying close attention to who’s getting traction.

“And these candidates, once we start getting close, like to the midterms and after the midterms, there is going to be a competition for the best staff in terms of the campaign consultants and vendors and such,” he said.