Kamala Harris topped a new poll on who Democrats would back in the 2028 presidential primary if it was held today, with Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez in third place.
Despite losing the 2024 election to Donald Trump, the former vice president was backed by 36 percent of Democratic and Democratic-leaning voters in Morning Consult’s latest poll.
New York’s Ocasio-Cortez, who is currently touring the U.S. to rally against Trump’s policies with Vermont senator Bernie Sanders, was in third place with 5 percent. Sanders, an Independent, sought the Democratic nomination in 2016 and 2020.
Harris’s former running-mate Tim Walz was also tied with Ocasio-Cortez at 5 percent, as was California Gov. Gavin Newsom, who is often touted as a future party leader despite little national experience.
After Harris, the most popular response at 13 percent was “don’t know/ no opinion,” while 10 percent chose former transportation secretary Pete Buttigieg.
Billionaire Mark Cuban and Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro were both next with 4 percent each.
Party donors are not feeling optimistic about the next presidential election and said it’s too early to back any one candidate.
“I don’t know if I would get involved at this point even if God were running,” Democratic fundraiser Michael Kempner told ABC News. “I think it’s going to be tough for any Democrat to raise any money. There is little enthusiasm.”
Another donor who remained anonymous told the outlet that Harris is “done” at the top of the ticket. “I think the country will not have moved in a progressive direction during that time, it will have become more conservative,” he said.
Harris is mulling running for governor of California and has reportedly set herself a deadline of deciding by the end of the summer, to the dismay of some of her potential rivals.
Former Los Angeles mayor Antonio Villaraigosa said “the time is now” for Harris to declare whether she is running or not.
“The challenges are too big. We deserve a real conversation,” Villaraigosa said. “We had a 100-day campaign. So no, you can’t get in at the end of the rainbow. Get in now.”
“It hurts every candidate in the race to have that looming over us,” one Democratic consultant working on the governor’s race told Politico. “[Harris] has the luxury of waiting as long as she wants, but I don’t think that’s good for the race, good for the party, or good for the voters.”
