The second term of Donald Trump will come to an end in 2028. While the Republican party will carefully consider who can carry party principles forward at that point, Democrats are in a much tougher spot.

To put it bluntly – the Democrats have a thin bench when it comes to presidential politics. There are “front-runners” in the sense that these are the names the media talks about right now, but that doesn’t mean in four years they will have the gravitas or the momentum to carry them forward in a presidential primary. The era of old will be over – no candidate will likely be over 70 years old (not even Bernie Sanders will be able to convince his diehard supporters in four years that an 87 year old man should be nominated). Who is left? Let’s take a look at who Amie Parnes at The Hill thinks is currently leading the pack.

First up is Kamala Harris herself. Yeah, THIS Kamala Harris. The one who just filmed a Thanksgiving message at the same time she was sloshed on a Zoom call. That is the same outfit and the same background. The only thing she added was Doug.

She’s just mailing it in at this point because she’s still vice president.

"Just move the flag over to the left. No one will notice."

— Stephen L. Miller (@redsteeze) November 28, 2024

While her campaign lackeys are busy trying to find a way to blame someone or something other than Kamala Harris for losing all seven swing states, they fail to realize that the problem was Kamala herself. That problem isn’t going to fix itself in four years.

She didn’t do Rogan because she couldn’t come out of a three hour interview sounding likable or well informed. It’s really that simple. She was her own biggest liability. pic.twitter.com/pLa4o2yMJ3

— Bethany S. Mandel (@bethanyshondark) November 28, 2024

If she decides to run again in 2028, watch the Democrat field absolutely tear her apart and show no mercy. Many of them acted as campaign surrogates for her this time around, and they watched her blow her gifted opportunity. She’s not coming back from her 2024 defeat.

Second is Gavin Newsom. It’s no secret that Governor Hair Gel really wants to be president – and was salty about Kamala Harris getting the nomination handed to her on a silver platter. Her loss is Newsom’s opportunity – maybe. His national image is currently shaped by two things. First, that infamous French Laundry dinner during COVID lockdowns, which showed everyone just how the political elites were living it up while telling everyone else to stay in their homes. And second, by the debate with Governor Ron DeSantis of Florida, where Newsom got hit with San Francisco’s infamous “poop map.” Newsom will be term-limited out as governor in 2026, and with no Democrat administration to hang out in, he may end up in political limbo leading into 2028.

Next up is Gretchen Whitmer, governor of Michigan. Whitmer’s political timing is slightly better than Newsom’s – she is also term-limited, but her second term will end in 2026. This means that she would still be in office while potentially seeking the Democrat nomination. However, the creepy COVID lockdown queen who insulted Catholics, and was governor of a swing state that ended up voting for Donald Trump, will have a hard time defending herself from fellow Democrats.

Josh Shapiro, governor of Pennsylvania, was the assumed vice presidential choice for Kamala Harris – until she “went with her gut” and picked Tim Walz. It was a surprise pick at the time, and hindsight has only made it look worse. Shapiro is better positioned than most of the field – he was elected as governor in 2022, which means he carries little COVID baggage. He is the governor of a swing state that voted for Trump. However, his national profile is definitely lower than others on this list. Can he change that in four years, and appeal to enough Democrats to get the nomination? Who knows.

Why is Pete Buttigieg on this list? He’s a married gay man, that’s why. Please name the stellar credentials that Buttigieg has racked up as Secretary of Transportation under Joe Biden. Oh, that’s right, he blew the East Palestine derailment. That decision, and all the fallout, lands on his doorstep. That disaster was Buttigieg’s chance to show that he was competent in a crisis, and he failed. Between that, and his continued lack of elected credentials, he may yet try again for president in 2028, but his moment has passed.

Why is J.B. Pritzker on this list? Because he’s a very rich man from a very rich family and is governor of Illinois. He could easily buy his way into the primary, but can he win a Democrat nomination? He was elected in 2018, and carries all the COVID baggage of that time. But do Democrats really love how Illinois is run enough to pick Pritzker as the nominee? That’s a steep hill to climb.

And because Amie Parnes apparently wants chaos, she threw AOC’s name into the list. If she decides to run, I will be buying popcorn in bulk. The odds that AOC could win a statewide election in New York are nearly zero, so becoming a national candidate is a pipe dream. However, she might do it – and she would be the chaos agent of the race. AOC is very, very left wing and is a card-carrying member of The Squad. Her entrance into the race puts her at the far left of almost all the other candidates. At that point, the other candidates have two options – they moderate their positions in order to contrast with her, or they try to outflank her on the left. The debates would be hilariously wild. She would never be the nominee – but she could make a Democrat primary very painful for the eventual nominee.

Remember, every single attack that Republicans have used in the past against Democrats will come back to bite them in the ass tenfold in a primary, when fellow Democrats will use every angle and every attack to fight for a presidential nomination. Open primaries are free-for-alls, and the nomination is a bitterly contested prize. It is far too early to assume any of these names will still be in contention four years from now. What we do know is that when the time comes, the Democrat primary is going to be a knives-out battle that will make or break national political careers.

Featured image: Democrat donkey caricature via DonkeyHotey Flickr, cropped and modified, Attribution 2.0 Generic (CC BY 2.0)