A growing number of prominent Democrats have publicly ruled out a run for higher office as the country begins to look ahead to 2028, instead focusing on their current roles or plans beyond elected office.
Among those who have recently downplayed or rejected presidential speculation are former Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo, Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer (D-MI), and Maryland Gov. Wes Moore (D-MD).
Raimondo recently tempered speculation about a possible White House campaign after becoming one of the first Democrats to publicly express interest in the race last April.
“Look, I would like the job, I’m not going to lie,” Raimondo said in a podcast appearance published on Tuesday. “But politics is in a crazy place right now, and so I’m just going to let it all unfold. But I’ll play my part in any way that I think I can help the country.”
The former Rhode Island governor emphasized that the party’s immediate focus should remain on the 2026 midterm elections rather than the next presidential contest.
“It’s still a very long time away. A very, very long time away. We got to get through these midterms, we’ll see how that goes,” Raimondo said. “I’m confident a number of really good people will throw their hat into the ring, and we’ll have to see.”
Raimondo, who was reportedly considered as former President Joe Biden’s running mate during the 2020 campaign before joining his Cabinet, has also argued that Democrats need to reconnect with voters on economic issues.
The former governor said Democrats had “gotten a little far from the meat-and-potatoes issues that matter to people in their day-to-day lives.”
Gretchen Whitmer
Whitmer, long considered one of the Democratic Party’s strongest future presidential prospects, has also sought to tamp down speculation about a 2028 campaign.
“I think there will be a robust group of people running for president,” Whitmer told Fox 2 Detroit in late May. “I will not be one of them in 2028. I can tell you that.”
Whitmer’s name had frequently appeared near the top of early lists of potential Democratic contenders, thanks in part to her success in a key battleground state. Michigan was decided by just 1.4 percentage points in the 2024 presidential election.
Despite her insistence that she will not run, political observers continue to watch her next moves closely as she approaches the end of her second term.
“She hasn’t been doing political travel to the early primary states, or anything like that,” Michigan Republican strategist Jamie Roe told the Washington Examiner. “She has not been engaging in the anti-Trump vitriol, at least not at a high-volume level.”
“She’s actually worked with the president to accomplish some pretty good things for Michigan,” Roe added. “I think that takes you out of the national conversation, if you’re not totally in line with where the base of the party is right now.”
Looking beyond her governorship, Whitmer said she is still weighing what comes next after elected office.
“I’ve gotten counsel from people who’ve made the transition, whether it was my friend Gina Raimondo, who I sat with last night for a little bit, Pete Buttigieg, or Paul Ryan,” Whitmer said. “The advice everyone says is, take a little bit of time, and so that’s what I’m gonna do.”
Wes Moore
Moore, another Democrat frequently mentioned as a future national candidate, was among the earliest party figures to reject speculation about a 2028 bid.
Appearing on NBC’s Meet the Press last year, Moore said his focus remains squarely on Maryland and his upcoming reelection campaign.
“Yeah, I’m not running for president,” Moore said when asked directly about a White House bid.
“I’m excited about reelection. I’m excited about what I’m going to be able to do for the people of Maryland,” he added. “Our population is growing, Maryland is moving, and so I’m really excited about going back in front of the people of my state and asking for another term.”
Moore will be on the ballot again in 2026, but speculation about his political future has proven difficult to shake.
THE DEMOCRATS WHO COULD RUN FOR PRESIDENT IN 2028
That was evident at the Rev. Al Sharpton’s National Action Network convention in New York, where Sharpton raised the prospect of a 2028 run during a fireside chat with the governor. Before Moore could fully answer, audience members broke into applause, with some rising to their feet and urging him to seek the presidency.
The enthusiastic response underscored Moore’s standing within the Democratic Party, even as he continues to publicly reject talk of a White House campaign.
