The New Name Leading the 2028 Presidential Race
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What is the main topic discussed in this episode?
Welcome to Next Step, everybody. I'm Mark Halperin, fired up, ready to go, editor-in-chief of the live interactive video platform Two-Way and the host here. It's the first Tuesday of the month, always an exciting time for us because it's when I unveil my monthly installment of our exclusive segment, 8 for 28, my ranking of the potential Democratic presidential nominees for 2028 from first to last. I get fired up about it because I have to do a lot of reporting for this one and I talk to top sources in politics, Democrats mostly, some Republicans. And you'll hear the fruits of my labor in just a moment. We have a new number one that I feel pretty strongly about. We shall see. And we've got two great guests today.
The former senator from Colorado, Cory Gardner. One of the more thoughtful people I've ever covered in elective office, former Senator Gardner will be here.
Why did Mark Halperin move Josh Shapiro to No. 1 in the August '8 for '28' rankings?
And then from the Media Research Institute, Justine Brooke-Murray. We'll talk a little politics, a little media as well. Excited to talk to them both about everything that's going on right now in this country on policy, on politics, and on the mood of America today. But first, we kick it off today with my reported monologue, the August edition of 8 for 28. New number one, which I'm excited about, is someone who, I'll tell you, honestly, in my gut, this is who I've always thought would be the nominee. Felt pretty strongly. Josh Shapiro of Pennsylvania, number one this month for the first time. And although he's a flawed candidate like everybody else, I'll explain to you why I have him in the number one slot.
Number two, the man who's been number one, Gavin Newsom, the governor of California. Number three, Pete Buttigieg. Number four, Kamala Harris. Number five. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, number six, Bernie Sanders, number seven, John Ossoff, and eight, Mark Kelly. I'll go through, as you can see, some of them have moved up, some down, most probably significantly Shapiro moving up. You take a look at last month. It was Newsom, Buttigieg, Sanders, Shapiro, AOC, Kamala Harris, Ossoff, Khanna. So a few names have come off. And now people have moved around. So again, here's the movement from July into August. Here's the changes I've made. Shapiro is up from the lower slot to number one. Gavin Newsom is down. Buttigieg is down.
Kamala Harris a little bit up. AOC stays the same. Bernie Sanders down. John Ossoff stays the same. And Mark Kelly comes on. He wasn't on last month. So let's talk it through why it is I have it the way I have it this month. First of all, what a big development in the nomination fight. We finally got the tentative announcement, which was expected to be ratified by the DNC of the calendar, the nominating calendar for what states are going to go in what order. We'll show you that now. And it's been approved by the committee of the Democratic Party and the full party is expected to approve it. It kicks off in South Carolina on January 22nd. That's a Saturday where South Carolina typically votes, unlike most other states.
Then the Silver State, Nevada, votes on February 1st, about 10 days later. Then New Hampshire, then New Mexico, then Michigan, then Virginia. So they were talking about having four or five states in the window before Super Tuesday. Now they've got six states in there, and three of them, South Carolina, Nevada, and New Hampshire, have traditionally been part of the early votes, although not in this order. New Mexico, Michigan, Virginia, they're brand new. And so you've got three states who have afforded this extraordinary responsibility who have never been given this responsibility to go early on to help winnow down the field and pick the nominee. And then three who have done it before. New Hampshire is not first under the Democratic Party, but the state law says they have to go first.
And the Democrats say if a candidate campaigns in New Hampshire, if New Hampshire goes first, they can't be in their debates. There's a lot to work out. So I wouldn't say this calendar's set. But we do know some things about this calendar and what it means.
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Chapters
5 chapters
1
What is the main topic discussed in this episode?
0:02–0:52
2
Why did Mark Halperin move Josh Shapiro to No. 1 in the August '8 for '28' rankings?
0:52–10:46
3
How will the Democratic Party's new 2028 primary calendar affect fundraising and early-state strategies?
10:46–17:43
4
Which types of candidates does the new calendar favor and why might moderates gain an edge?
17:43–48:04
5
What are the biggest vulnerabilities for Gavin Newsom and Kamala Harris in a 2028 primary?
48:04–1:09:09