Harris and Newsom stir 2028 speculation at Democratic Party summit

The race for the next Democratic Party presidential nomination appears to be underway as two of the party’s most high-profile politicians considered potential top 2028 candidates spark further speculation at the Democratic Party’s grand summit.

Former Vice President Kamala Harris, the Democrats’ standard-bearer in 2024 after then-President Joe Biden dropped out of the race, delivered a sharper tone last weekend when she railed against both the major parties and the political status quo during her speech at the Democratic National Committee’s (DNC) winter convention.

And California Gov. Gavin Newsom got the red carpet treatment, meeting with delegates on the opening day of this year’s DNC chat in Los Angeles, home of both Harris and Newsom.

The main focus of the hundreds of committee members and party officials who attended the summit was on training sessions to review the party’s decisive victories in last month’s 2025 election and better-than-expected performances in this year’s special elections and to prepare for next year’s crucial midterms.

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But with the unofficial start of the next White House race less than a year away and a bitter battle brewing among Democrats over the party’s presidential nomination calendar, 2028 has also been thrust into the spotlight.

“Frankly, we should be focusing on the midterms,” ​​Harris said in her Friday speech. “But Democrats, we must also have a clear vision of what will happen after the midterm elections. And after Trump. We must answer the question. We must answer the question: What comes next for our party and our democracy?”

Harris argued that “both parties have failed to maintain the public trust” and that “people are done with the status quo and are willing to disrupt things to force change.”

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And Harris, who was swept by President Donald Trump in every key battleground state in the 2024 election, said Trump is representative of a larger problem plaguing the country’s politics.

“I believe he and the rise of the MAGA movement are symptomatic of a failed system that is the result of years of outsourcing and offshoring, financial deregulation, rising income inequality, a broken campaign finance system, and endless partisan gridlock, all of which contribute to getting us here today.” he emphasized.

“The vice president received a very warm and enthusiastic welcome,” one committee member told Fox News Digital.

And when he hinted at who would be running for the 2028 nomination, some in the room shouted “you.”

Harris received a warm welcome less than 24 hours before her speech at the United Farm Workers’ annual gala, according to those in the room.

In the new year, expect to see more of Harris helping Democrats from coast to coast as the party tries to regain its congressional majority in the midterm elections.

Harris has added another 2026 stop to her book tour promoting “107 Days,” which includes her thoughts on the shortened 2024 presidential campaign. Among the stops is South Carolina, one of the states where early voting is important in the Democratic Party’s presidential candidacy calendar.

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While Newsom did not address delegates during Friday’s general session, he was given VIP treatment on Thursday as he held meetings and met with delegates on the opening day of this year’s annual winter convention of the Democratic National Committee (DNC) in Los Angeles.

“Newsom was greeted like a rock star as he was harassed by party leaders and activists alike as he tried to walk from meeting to meeting,” a DNC committee member who witnessed the commotion told Fox News Digital.

Newsom met Thursday with Democratic leaders from New Hampshire, the nation’s first presidential primary state, and Nevada, another key early voting state.

California Gov. Gavin Newsom, who was seen speaking at the 2025 New York Times DealBook Summit in New York City on Dec. 3, had a very warm welcome as he held meetings at the Democratic National Committee’s winter meeting in Los Angeles on Thursday. (Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images)

“We had a great debate on a wide range of topics,” longtime New Hampshire Democratic Party Chairman Ray Buckley told Fox News Digital.

Newsom’s stature in his own party has soared this year thanks to his vocal and visual pressure against the president, including viral social media trolling of Trump and his successful effort in California against Republican congressional redistricting efforts.

“Newsom has demonstrated the ability to stand up to Trump boldly and extremely effectively without straying from core democratic values,” veteran Democratic strategist Joe Caiazzo told Fox News Digital.

While both Newsom and Harris made waves at the DNC winter meeting, both have many opponents who worry that neither will be elected in 2028 when Democrats try to win back the White House.

And if one or both of them launch presidential campaigns, they will likely be joined by a large crowd of other candidates.

One possible candidate for the White House was Illinois Governor JB Pritzker, who was hanging around on the opening day of the DNC meeting.

Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker, seen attending a Veterans Day ceremony in Chicago’s Little Village neighborhood on Nov. 11, 2025, held a major fundraiser for the Democratic National Committee on the sidelines of its winter meeting in Los Angeles on Thursday. (Jacek Boczarski/Anadolu via Getty Images)

The billionaire governor raised over $1 million for the DNC at a fundraiser Thursday night, Fox News Digital confirmed.

A DNC insider said having Harris, Newsom and Pritzker on stage “gives them an opportunity to focus on a message that will win for Democrats in 2028.”

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There are more than a dozen other Democrats considered potential 2028 White House contenders. Many also visit and parachute into early voting states. 2025 campaign tracking.

There are also Governors among them. Josh Shapiro of Pennsylvania, Andy Beshear of Kentucky, Wes Moore of Maryland and Gretchen Whitmer of Michigan; Senators Cory Booker of New Jersey, Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota, Ruben Gallego and Mark Kelly of Arizona, and Chris Murphy of Connecticut; Representative of progressive superstar. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez California Rep. Ro Khanna of New York and another prominent progressive; and two moderate Democrats, former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg and former Chicago mayor and former White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel.