Kamala Harris lost big to Donald Trump in the 2024 presidential election, but if the 2028 election were to be held today, a significant margin of Democrats would vote for her again.
The vice president remains at the top of a list of Democratic potential candidates for 2028, according to a new poll, suggesting she still retains high name recognition and goodwill from the party.
Harris leads the potential field with 41 percent of the vote, according to a Puck News/Echelon Insights survey.
The rest of the pack combined – 13 Democratic politicians who all scored in the single digits – garnered 43 percent, with 16 percent of those surveyed saying they were ‘unsure’ to the question of who they would vote for if a party primary were held today.
Harris’ ‘frenemy’ from California Gov. Gavin Newsom is at second place with just eight percent.
Since Harris lost the election, Newsom traveled to the White House to meet with President Joe Biden and pointedly vowed that the state of California would resist President-elect Donald Trump’s agenda.
But other Democratic governors remain in the early conversation of who could run in 2028.
Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro earned seven percent in the poll, a once-rumored vice presidential pick who was ultimately turned down by Harris as a running mate in favor of Gov. Tim Walz of Minnesota who receives six percent in the poll.
Vice President Kamala Harris leads a list of Democrats who could compete in the 2028 election
Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg also remains in the list of potential candidates as he sits at six percent.
Other possible candidates include Democratic socialist Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez with four percent and Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer with three percent.
Candidates in the bottom tier include Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker, Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear, Colorado Gov. Jared Polis, and Maryland Gov. Wes Moore.
Democratic senators in the conversation include Pennsylvania Sen. John Fetterman, New Jersey Sen. Cory Booker, and Georgia Sen. Raphael Warnock.
California Gov. Gavin Newsom comes in second place in a recent poll of who should be the next Democratic standard bearer
Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer
U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg speaks at an election night campaign party
On the Republican side of the survey, the Echelon Insights poll found nearly every member chosen for his cabinet or inner circle so far with a slight favorability.
Trump is off to a good start, with a favorability at 49 percent, according to the survey, which is two points higher than those of Harris who has a 47 percent rating and President Joe Biden who sits at 42 percent.
No matter how successful Trump is during his second term he will not be running again due to term limits.
Republicans already view Vice President-elect JD Vance as the standard bearer for 2028, with Vivek Ramasawmy, former South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley, and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis in the running.
Other possible candidates included Senators Marco Rubio, Ted Cruz, Josh Hawley, and Tim Scott.
Governors also in the conversation included Arkansas Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders, Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin, and South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem.
The poll of 1,010 likely voters included responses from 457 Democrats and 483 Republicans.
