Speculation On Long Shot Democratic Presidential Contenders For 2028

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With speculation about the future Presidential Election of 2028 heating up, as we near the Midterm Congressional and Gubernatorial Elections of 2026, Reid J. Epstein of the NY Times published on May 13 an exhaustive list of potential contenders in both parties, totaling the “crazy” number of 62 individuals—30 Democrats and 32 Republicans.

This author and blogger thinks this massive list is “off the wall”, and that the vast number of these potential 62 contenders will never even announce a Presidential candidacy.

However,there are some who are intriguing on the Democratic Party side.

Newcomers who have to prove themselves by winning in November

James Talarico of Texas, Senate
Graham Platner of Maine, Senate
Rob Sand of Iowa, Governor

Democrats in office who would be fascinating candidates

Elissa Slotkin of Michigan, Senator
Jon Ossoff of Georgia, Senator
Jason Crow of Colorado, House of Representatives

Realistically, of the above list, the only likely contenders who would announce for President would be Slotkin and Ossoff.

However, there is speculation that Talarico, who has really inspired and excited many about his prospects, could end up running for Vice President, as after all, Vice President JD Vance only had one and a half years in office as Ohio Senator, before being tapped for the Vice Presidency.

And also, Barack Obama announced for President only two years after winning his Illinois Senate seat, and became President after four years of service.

Donald Trump Summit In China At Weak Point Of His Presidency: Danger To Taiwan!

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Donald Trump just completed the much heralded summit in China with Xi Jinping, and no major breakthroughs on the US-China relationship seem evident.

Trump went to China at a low point, with the war against Iran having major opposition at home and among NATO allies; with the highest inflation in the past few years; with clear differences with China over Taiwan, and the fear that Trump will abandon Taiwan, much as he has done with Ukraine; and with Trump’s own mental and physical state in rapid decline.

Summits are supposed to lead to major accomplishments, but this particular summit seems like a dud, with the only “accomplishment” being trade deals that seem to have been achieved for many of the sixteen “oligarchs” who went with Trump to China.

Abject Cruelty Of Trump Administration On A Multitude Of Matters Shocking And Against American Values!

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In a time of a multitude of outrages being perpetrated by Donald Trump and his Cabinet members and other appointees, a particularly disturbing reality is the abject cruelty that Trump promotes.

ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement) has been willing to victimize legal immigrants; undocumented immigrants who have not committed any crimes; unaccompanied children; elderly people who have been in America for many decades; military veterans; recipients of the Deferred Action For Childhood Arrivals (DACA) under President Barack Obama; pregnant women; and people severely ill with various health issues. Also, some people are deported to countries they have no relationship with, and do not know the language of, and many of these nations are oppressive regimes.

There has been a total lack of compassion, empathy, humanity, and decency, and also, lack of consideration of the long term damage mentally and physically, visited, upon victims of this nativist, biased, Presidency.

While there have been other Presidents who displayed similar behavior, none have been to the extent now being perpetrated.

Attacks On First Amendment Escalating As Donald Trump Seeks Retribution

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The Donald Trump attacks on the First Amendment are escalating as retribution is sought against all critics.

Two weeks ago, the day that King Charles reminded America about checks and balances, and need for restriction of executive power, the Trump Administration proceeded to indict for the second time the former head of the FBI, James Comey, claiming wrongfully that Comey had threatened the life of President Trump.

Also, ABC was faced with a federal lawsuit due to the humor and comedy of Jimmy Kimmel, once before literally fired for his commentary on Donald Trump, but restored a week later.

The First Lady, Melania Trump, also condemned Jimmy Kimmel as promoting violence, pure hypocrisy, as it is her husband who is provoking terror and violence through his rhetoric and actions as President.

The growing threat against all in the federal and state governments across America are due to the provocative and divisive language and actions of the President, who cannot tolerate humor or criticism.

And the Trump Administration is pursuing legal action against news media, including even the conservative Wall Street Journal, owned by conservative Rupert Murdoch, as well as the NY Times, and undermining CNN which soon will likely be owned by David Ellison, of Paramount Skydance Media, which already has undermined CBS News since they gained control of that once great media institution.

Additionally, Jeff Bezos, owner of the Washington Post, has done great damage to that newspaper, turning it editorially into a right wing direction, while the regular news coverage is still considered reliable.

Democrats Must Promote New Voting Rights Legislation IF They Take Power In The 120th Congress (2027-2029)

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IF the Democrats can win control of the House of Representatives, and hopefully, the Senate, for the 120th Congress (2027-2029), it is urgent that new Voting Rights legislation is adopted.

What the Supreme Court has done in Louisiana V. Callais has wiped out the advancements of the past six decades, and is unacceptable long term.

To deny minority groups in America–African Americans and Latinos–a role in American government, is setting America back to the late 19th century, and cannot be sustained long term.

And the need for Supreme Court reform is also urgent, including imposing for future Justices age limits and term limits, and also expansion of the Court from 9 to 13 members.

The whole future of American democracy, already wounded, is at stake in these upcoming Midterm Elections of 2026!

Tumultuous Time On Redistricting In The House Of Representatives, With Revival Of “Jim Crow” White Supremacy In South!

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The shocking series of events, begun by the Supreme Court decision in Louisiana V. Callais on April 29, has provoked other Southern States to promote similar racial gerrymandering and redistricting, favoring the Republican Party.

Then, the Virginia State Supreme Court has negated the popular referendum for redistricting, favoring the Democratic Party, upending all projections regarding the House of Representatives in the 120th Congress (2027-2029).

This is a tumultuous time that can allow for the possibility that the Republicans will be able to overcome their disadvantages, which normally, in a midterm election, would lead to gains by the Democratic party, out of power in the White House, and with many reasons why they should gain control of the House of Representatives, particularly with only a three seat edge by the Republicans, a very tenuous situation.

The idea that Jim Crow Racism of the post Reconstruction period of the Gilded Age would come back a century and a half later, and the effective repeal of the legendary Voting Rights Act of 1965 under President Lyndon B. Johnson and his Great Society programs, is extremely depressing and demoralizing.

But, there is no guarantee of what the ultimate effect of the Supreme Court decision will be long term.

But clearly, many of the African American members of Congress from the South are likely to lose their seats, and the Republicans, the party that ended slavery, now will have the reputation of being the White Supremacist party that the Democrats were for nearly 90 years until the 1960s.

The Three “I”s–ICE, Inflation, Iran–Key Campaign Issues For Midterm Elections Of 2026!

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With six months to the Midterm Elections of 2026, it is clear that Democrats have key campaign issues to emphasize, and they all begin with the letter “I”.

The outrageous abuses of ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement), including the death of Renee Good and Alex Pretti in Minneapolis, but also many other abuses, and denial of basic human rights to people of color and even legal immigrants, is an issue that will not be diminished.

Inflation, the outrageous growth of the cost of living, most notably in gasoline and food prices, but also across the board in the economy, is undermining the ability of tens of millions of Americans to cope with the stresses of daily living, and denial by Trump and Republicans, or ridiculously blaming it on Joe Biden, will not make the issue go away.

The Iran War, and the undermining of international stability by Trump, starting a war that has no real end, and which threatens the Middle East and NATO long term, is an albatross around the neck of Donald Trump and Republicans, and will cost massive economic harm long term.

Additionally, the totally unhinged behavior of Donald Trump, his authoritarian attack on American democracy and the rule of law, and his outrageous attention to glorifying his own name and legacy, is an alarm bell in the night, and demands ability of a Democratic Congress to rein in his dictatorial bent.

Ohio And Florida Republican Gubernatorial Nominees Facing Racism From Within!

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With the promotion of racism and white supremacy under Donald Trump, the Republican Party is now facing within its midst ugly racism occurring, most notably, in Ohio and Florida.

In Ohio, Republican Gubernatorial nominee Vivek Ramaswamy, formerly a Republican Presidential contender in 2024, of Hindu Indian heritage and parents who are immigrants, with him having dark skin, is being subjected to verbal and other abuse by advocates of white Christian supremacy including Casey Putsch, who won 18 percent of the vote in the Ohio primary, and has been openly abusive about the background and heritage of Ramaswamy.

Meanwhile, in Florida, which has months until the Gubernatorial primary occurs in August, front runner Congressman Byron Donalds, who is African American but has a white wife, is being pilloried by James Fishback, who is a white supremacist, nativist, and Christian Nationalist.

Additionally, white supremacist influencer Nick Fuentes, who ironically is himself Hispanic, has gained a wide following with his racist, antisemitic, and sexist tirades, attracting lots of young men.

Christian nationalist pastors, and also Tucker Carlson, have added fuel to the fire as well.

While this author and blogger finds both Ramaswamy and Donalds distasteful to the extreme, it is shocking how they have become targets for more extreme Republicans than even they are, and are having to deal, therefore, with what Democrats have long had to cope with.

The Urgent Need For Generational Change In Congress

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Both houses of Congress are overly “elderly”, and polls indicate Americans want an age cap and term limits, in order to modernize the institution, and make it relevant to the younger generations which feel they are not adequately represented.

The average member of the House of Representatives is 58, and in the Senate, it is 65, and the present Congress is the third oldest in US history.

Fortunately, some members who are elderly are retiring, and a few have passed away, but still there are cases of members who simply do not believe in the concept of retirement.

So we have Senator Chuck Grassley of Iowa, nearing age 93 in September, who is Senate President Pro Tempore, third in line of Presidential succession, who would have become President if a horrible tragedy had occurred at the recent White House Correspondents’ Association Dinner in late April.

There are some members of Congress who are effective at an advanced age, but public office should not be a lifetime job, and it would inspire more younger Americans to vote if they could see people they can relate to, in public office.

An age limit of 75 seems reasonable, and thankfully, there are younger contenders running for election in the Midterm Elections of 2026, as this blogger has written about before.

Hopefully, there will be a “youth wave” moving forward, and many of these seekers of becoming part of Congress succeed in November.

Midterm Elections With Presidential Approval Ratings Below 50 Percent

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The history of Midterm Elections and Presidents has, historically, not been a good one for almost all Presidents in modern history,

The one major exception is 1934, two years into the first term of Democratic President Franklin D. Roosevelt and his New Deal, when his party gained supermajorities in both houses of the 74th Congress, up from 60 to 75 seats in the US Senate, and up from 309 seats to 333 seats in the House of Representatives.

In the 106th Congress (1999-2001) under Democrat Bill Clinton, his party gained five seats in the House of Representatives, and one seat in the Senate, although the Republicans kept the majority.

And in the 108th Congress (2003-2005), under Republican President George W. Bush, and after September 11, Republicans gained six seats in the House of Representatives, and one seat in the Senate.

Finally, in the 118th Congress (2023-2025) under Democrat Joe Biden, the Democrats actually gained one seat in the Senate, while losing the House of Representatives majority to the Republican opposition.

Otherwise, the party in the White House has suffered major losses in seats, connected particularly with the modern approval ratings of Presidents falling below 50 percent.

So in 1946, under President Harry Truman, the Democrats lost 55 House seats and the majority in both houses.

Lyndon B. Johnson lost 48 seats in 1966; Ronald Reagan lost 26 seats in 1982; Bill Clinton lost 54 seats in 1994, and control of both houses; George W. Bush lost 30 seats in 2006, and control of both houses; Barack Obama lost 64 seats in 2010 and control of the House of Representatives; and Donald Trump lost 42 seats in 2018 and control of the House of Representatives.