{"id":31041,"date":"2026-04-18T04:45:21","date_gmt":"2026-04-18T04:45:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/people\/31041\/"},"modified":"2026-04-18T04:45:21","modified_gmt":"2026-04-18T04:45:21","slug":"new-poll-shows-top-2028-potential-democratic-candidates","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/people\/31041\/","title":{"rendered":"New Poll Shows Top 2028 Potential Democratic Candidates"},"content":{"rendered":"

Former Vice President Kamala Harris leads the pack of top potential candidates for the 2028 Democratic primary, followed by California Governor Gavin Newsom, according to a new survey from YouGov released this week.<\/p>\n

The poll was released on the heels of\u00a0Harris saying<\/a>\u00a0she is “thinking about” another run at the White House, and other polls <\/a>surveying voters on their 2028 thoughts. <\/p>\n

Why It Matters <\/p>\n

Early positioning by potential candidates has carried added weight, as polling since 2025 has suggested close hypothetical contests between Vice President JD Vance and prominent Democrats while highlighting uncertainty within both parties.<\/p>\n

Within the Democratic field, surveys in 2026 showed Harris leading prospective primary voters overall in many polls, with Newsom and New York Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez also drawing measurable support, along with former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg.<\/p>\n

No candidate has officially announced their candidacy.<\/p>\n

\"\"What To Know <\/p>\n

According to the poll, when asked “Which of the following people would you consider voting for in the Democratic presidential primary or caucus in your state in 2028? Select all that apply,” Harris landed 52 percent of the vote and Newsom 40 percent. Very closely behind was Buttigieg at 39 percent, Ocasio-Cortez at 38 percent and independent Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders at 37 percent.<\/p>\n

When asked in part who “would be your ideal choice for the 2028 Democratic presidential nominee?” Harris received 24 percent, Newsom 12 percent and Ocasio-Cortez and Buttigieg 9 percent.<\/p>\n

The poll surveyed 2,189 U.S. adults from April 8-13 and had a margin of error of 2.8 percentage points.<\/p>\n

According to the poll, 19 percent would be disappointed if Harris became the nominee, 16 percent would be disappointed if Sanders became the nominee and 16 percent would be disappointed if Newsom did.<\/p>\n

D.\u00a0Stephen Voss, political science professor at the University of Kentucky, told\u00a0Newsweek\u00a0via email\u00a0on Friday: “Early in a campaign cycle, the candidates with high name recognition usually lead the polls. Sometimes the lead holds, and sometimes it evaporates. Although it’s hard to pinpoint scientifically why some frontrunners have legs and others do not, partly what matters is whether the other candidates have the time and resources to shape their standing with the public – which is more likely with presidential contests than in lower-visibility elections.”<\/p>\n

Newsom has not formally announced his candidacy but has spoken about 2028 in some capacity. Newsom told CBS News Sunday Morning that he will consider it after the 2026 midterms.<\/p>\n

When the survey asked who is most likely to win the 2028 general election if they were the Democratic nominee, Newsom had 28 percent, Harris 19 percent and Arizona Senator Mark Kelly 5 percent.<\/p>\n

What Happens Next<\/p>\n

Potential candidates typically throw their name into the race after the midterm elections.<\/p>\n

Update 4\/17\/26, 11:20 p.m. ET: This article has been updated with comment from D.\u00a0Stephen Voss.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Former Vice President Kamala Harris leads the pack of top potential candidates for the 2028 Democratic primary, followed…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":31042,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[147],"tags":[1733,1390,542,6836,3211,4793,985],"class_list":{"0":"post-31041","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-gavin-newsom","8":"tag-democrat","9":"tag-democratic-party","10":"tag-gavin-newsom","11":"tag-kamala-harris","12":"tag-poll","13":"tag-polling","14":"tag-us-politics"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@people\/116423892864243549","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/people\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31041","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/people\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/people\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/people\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/people\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=31041"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/people\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31041\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/people\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/31042"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/people\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=31041"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/people\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=31041"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/people\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=31041"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}