2028 looms large: Harris, Newsom, Pritzker converge at high-stakes Democratic Party summit

By Fox News · Fox News

Three of the most high-profile Democrats in the country, who are considered potential top-tier contenders for the party's 2028 presidential nomination, are crossing paths at a major Democratic Party summit. Former Vice President Kamala Harris , the party's 2024 presidential nominee, and Govs. Gavin Newsom of California and JB Pritzker of Illinois are all participating in the Democratic National Committee's annual winter meeting, which this year kicked off Thursday in Los Angeles. The main focus for the hundreds of committee members and party officials attending the confab is reviewing the party's decisive victories in last month's 2025 elections and better than expected performances in this year's special elections, and training sessions to prepare for next year's midterms. But with the unofficial start of the next White House race less than a year away, and what's likely to be a bruising battle among Democrats over the party's presidential nominating calendar getting underway, 2028 is also in the spotlight. 21 DEMOCRATS WHO MAY RUN FOR THE WHITE HOUSE IN 2028 Longtime New Hampshire Democratic Party Chair Ray Buckley, a member of the DNC's influential Rules and Bylaws Committee, told Fox News that while the focus of the winter meeting is "overwhelmingly 2026," he added, "there's interest in 2028." Buckley added that the major party confabs are an opportunity for "all of our stars to address the DNC." SUCCEEDING TRUMP IN 2028: SIX REPUBLICANS TO KEEP YOUR EYES ON Pointing to the appearances this week by Harris, Newsom and Pritzker, a DNC committee member sees appearances by the three Democratic heavyweights as an early screen test. "It sets the tone not just for a Democratic landslide in the 2026 midterm elections, but it gives them an opportunity to start honing in on a winning message for Democrats in 2028," said the committee member, who asked for anonymity to speak more freely. Harris, who earlier this year passed on launching a 2026 gubernatorial campaign in he…