White House hopefuls hit the 2025 campaign trail as Democrats try to turn the page
WASHINGTON — The Democrats' most recent presidential nominee is largely missing from the campaign trail one year after President Donald Trump delivered her party a thorough drubbing , opening the door for many others who are flirting with plans to compete against Kamala Harris in 2028 for the White House.
Harris is currently on a book tour but does have her sights set on California , where on Saturday she'll be making her first in-person appearance in a 2025 race as voters in her home state decide whose side to take in a battle with Trump over redrawing congressional boundaries before the all-important 2026 midterms .
But neither Harris nor former President Joe Biden , who quit the Democratic ticket last year under political pressure, have campaigned in person for their party's nominees in the only gubernatorial races this year in Virginia and New Jersey .
More: How Abigail Spanberger and Mikie Sherrill hope to redefine Democrats in Virginia and NJ
Former U.S. Ambassador to Japan and Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel
Instead, the Democratic Party is turning to a familiar force in those races during times of political crisis: former President Barack Obama, who has been featured in campaign ads in California and will headline rallies this weekend for Mikie Sherrill in New Jersey and Abigail Spanberger in Virginia.
A number of politicians who’ve been tossed around as possible 2028 contenders have also dropped in on either or both states with governor races, often showcasing their resumes to distinguish themselves from a deep bench that wants to be part of the Democrats’ rebuilding narrative.
“For many Democrats, they’ve turned the page," veteran Democratic strategist Jim Manley said. "We as a party are desperate to try and look for leaders for the future. Unfortunately, we haven't found them yet.”
On a Oct. 29 livestream for both of his party's candidates, Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear, who will lead the Democratic Governor’s Association next year, immediately touted his electoral success as a two-term Democrat in a red state that Trump won decisively.
“I'm living, breathing proof that Democrats can and should win everywhere,” Beshear said.
Other top names were on the call, too, including Sens. Cory Booker, D-N.J., and Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., two former 2020 presidential contenders who touted the need for Democrats to score big victories and make this election an anti-Trump referendum.
“This is our chance to show that the MAGA world is not going to win when it comes to what the people want,” Booker said during the Oct. 29 livestream.
Even more have dropped by, such as Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker, who stumped in Virginia, while former Biden Cabinet official Pete Buttigieg, Rep. Ro Khanna, D-Calif., and former Japanese ambassador and Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel have done events in both states.
Khanna and Emanuel have also campaigned in New York City, where 34-year-old Assemblyman Zohran Mamdani has excited progressives in his bid to be mayor of the nation's largest city. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., another possible 2028 contender, said Mamdani's candidacy represents a new hope for the city and nation.
More: 'I have been imperfect': Top five moments from Sen. Cory Booker's marathon Senate speech
She suggested voters are rallying behind the democratic socialist to take a stand against the Trump administration but also a “bygone” Democratic establishment embodied by former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, his opponent who is running for mayor as an independent.
“It is going to take all of us, but to be honest it always has,” Ocasio-Cortez said. “It is not a coincidence that the very forces that Zohran is up against in this race mirrors what we are up against nationally.”
More: See why Virginia and New Jersey's elections matter this year
More: Amid attacks on his faith, Zohran Mamdani excites Muslim, South Asian voters
Trump has referred to Mamdani as a "communist" and said it will be a "fluke" if the politician he's threatened with arrest is elected on Nov. 4. Still, Trump, a New York City native who has knocked the GOP candidate in the race, Curtis Sliwa, has not joined moderate Republicans in backing Cuomo.
In Virginia, Trump has kept Republican gubernatorial candidate Winsome Earle-Sears at arms length , even as he endorsed the state's attorney general, Jason Miyares, in his reelection bid. Miyares is facing off against Democrat Jay Jones. Trump and Vice President JD Vance have called on Jones to drop out of the race over violent text messages.
Trump has lent Jack Ciatterelli his support in New Jersey, campaigning for the Republican virtually. But neither Trump nor Vance have made in-person campaign stops in the two states they lost handily to Democrats in 2024.
Biden largely out of the 2025 picture
Biden has been less active politically as the 82-year-old former president fights prostate cancer. He completed a course of radiation therapy in late October. But he has not been out of the public eye altogether.
As he accepted a life achievement award at the Edward M. Kennedy Institute in Boston on Oct. 27, Biden said the nation’s “democracy is at stake” and declared “it's no time to give up.”
"These are dark days," Biden said. "But we are one of the only countries in the world that has time and again has come out of every crisis we faced, stronger than we went into that crisis, every one."
The former president also plans to headline the Nebraska Democratic Party’s annual gala on Nov. 7.
A spokesperson for Biden had no comment.
Harris is on a mostly-sold out book tour , promoting her campaign memoir, “107 Days.” But she has no tour dates on the calendar in the week leading up to Election Day. Her next stop is in Seattle on Nov. 4, which is the day of the election.
In her book, Harris took Biden’s inner circle to task for refusing to tell the elderly president he should not seek reelection. She also revealed that former Obama White House staffer David Plouffe, a senior adviser on her 2024 campaign, pushed her to distance herself from Biden.
“People hate Joe Biden ,” she says Plouffe told her.
On the 2025 campaign trail, Harris' involvement has primarily been digital. She's sent fundraising emails for Spanberger and recorded robocalls for Sherrill.
The former Democratic 2024 presidential nominee endorsed the Proposition 50 campaign in California, where potential 2028 rival Gavin Newsom is spearheading the bid to combat Trump ahead of the 2026 midterm elections, in an Oct. 30 video, in which she accused Trump and the GOP of "trying to rig the system around congressional maps." She's appearing on Saturday at a rally in California in support of the ballot initiative.
Harris begrudgingly endorsed Mamdani in a television interview and made no appearances on the stump for any Democrat competing this fall. She recently held a closed-door fundraiser for former Democratic North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper, who is competing in next year's election for the state's open Senate seat.
A spokesperson for Spanberger's campaign did not respond to a request for comment.
Sherill did not directly answer a question from USA TODAY during an October editorial board meeting with the Bergen Record, a USA TODAY Network partner, when asked if she would welcome Harris on the trail. Sherill said her campaign makes invites based on who people ask to visit.
The four-term congresswoman, who is locked in a tight battle with Republican Jack Ciatterelli, said her constituents wanted to hear more about Maryland Gov. Wes Moore’s anti-violence programs and Latino voters asked about Arizona Sen. Ruben Gallego.
“If people want to see (Harris) and ask for her at a certain rally, she is certainly someone that… a lot of people are invested in her book tour, and she still has that kind of draw,” Sherill said.
“If that's the case, if people, you know, are requesting her, then we'll reach out.”
A spokesperson for Harris said that Spanberger and Sherill had invited her but it did not work with her schedule.
Harris weighs her future
Harris recently confirmed that she’s considering another presidential bid.
"I am not done," she told the BBC in late October. "I have lived my entire career as a life of service, and it's in my bones."
But early polling of the race suggests the party faithful are ready to move on. A University of New Hampshire survey of likely Democratic primary voters in October had Harris in fourth place in a prospective 2028 contest, behind Buttigieg, Newsom and Ocasio-Cortez, in that order.
More: 7 takeaways as Kamala Harris clears path to Democratic nomination
Harris had a 55% favorability rating in the poll, with 26% neutral, 17% unfavorable and almost no one undecided about their views on her.
By comparison, the most popular Democrat polled, Buttigieg, had an 81% approval rating, with 9% neutral, 6% negative and 4% still making up their minds. Newsom had a 58% approval rating, with 24% neutral, 10% opposed and 8% expressing uncertainty.
Most primary voters in the early voting state were still forming their opinions about other potential candidates such as Beshear, Gallego, Khanna and Moore.
One prominent national Democrat, who asked to remain anonymous in order to speak candidly about the former president and vice president, pointed to the survey as evidence of the fading appeal of Harris. The party’s most recent presidential nominee should not be trailing the pack a year after her history-making run, the person said.
Harris can still help the party in targeted ways, the Democrat offered. But Biden is finished, the person said.
The Obama factor
With the party’s most recent standard bearers largely out of the picture, Obama, the Democrats’ most popular figure, has stepped in to fill the void.
He’s cut ads for Sherill , Spanberger and Newsom’s redistricting play in California. The ads in Virginia focus on the economy, voting rights and abortion access. The New Jersey spot hits on the economy and safety and reminds voters that Sherill is a former federal prosecutor , mother and Navy veteran.
More: How Abigail Spanberger and Mikie Sherrill hope to redefine Democrats in Virginia and NJ
Obama will campaign on Nov. 1 for Sherill in Newark and Spanberger in Norfolk on the final weekend of the campaign.
In announcing the appearance, Sherill said, “President Obama reminds us what we can accomplish when we leaders are unafraid to take on big challenges to deliver.”
Manley, the Democratic strategist and longtime Capitol Hill leadership aide, said it’s “about damn time” Obama took on a more high-profile role in the current political debate.
The former president has been out of office for nearly nine years. Yet, he’s still seen as Democrats’ best hope for going toe-to-toe with Trump, who held a tele-rally for Ciattarelli to kick off early voting in New Jersey.
“He's still got his fastball,” Manley said of Obama. “And he's still wildly popular with the base, and no one gives a speech like him.”
Voters of Tomorrow executive director Santiago Mayer said Obama stirs up nostalgia for Gen Z on the campaign trail because he was the last person to serve as president before the hard-right shift in national politics.
“That will attract a lot of people who are excited to see that return to normalcy, see that excitement, see that energy, and really, the energy of change that Obama represented,” Mayer said of his presence.
The 23-year-old liberal activist, whose group has been helping organize youth support for Spanberger and Sherill, said Gen Z voters still have a lot of affection for Harris. Her campaign was hampered by a double-digit swing in support from the demographic group to Trump, but Mayer said her backing from young people should not be underestimated.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Democratic White House hopefuls are using 2025 as practice for 2028
