Hotly contested Democratic primaries in a pair of Upper Midwestern states tonight will test a half dozen Democrats eyeing 2028 presidential bids who have endorsed on opposite sides of key races.
Endorsements have been a major way for Democratic leaders and wannabes to try to shape the party in their image and get key allies in positions of power, at a time when contentious primaries have laid bare the party’s generational and ideological differences.
The results have started to reveal whose endorsement has power — and which potential future presidential candidates have a pulse on the party’s base right now.
Tonight’s top endorsement test is Minnesota’s Senate primary. Democratic Sens. Chris Van Hollen of Maryland and Chris Murphy of Connecticut have thrown their support behind progressive Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan, as has Rep. Ro Khanna of California. Former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg and Sens. Ruben Gallego of Arizona and Elissa Slotkin of Michigan backed moderate Rep. Angie Craig.
Buttigieg and Murphy are also on opposing sides in a generational primary in Connecticut’s 1st District, where 14-term Democratic Rep. John Larson seeks to fend off a challenge from former Hartford Mayor Luke Bronin. Murphy is backing Larson in their shared home state, while Buttigieg is supporting Bronin.
“There’s certainly a chance to put forward some leaders who represent a new kind of energy, and the kind of personal story that’s really going to meet the moment,” Buttigieg said in an interview, noting he has known Bronin since before they were in politics. “We’ve done a lot of similar things in terms of national security work and obviously local government too, so excited for him politically and as a friend.”
Buttigieg is also backing 2024 House candidate Rebecca Cooke in Wisconsin’s Republican-leaning 3rd district, along with Slotkin and Sen. Mark Kelly of Arizona. Cooke, also backed by the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, is running against former Eau Claire City Council president Emily Berge.
But most national Democrats have steered clear of Wisconsin’s gubernatorial primary, where democratic socialist state Rep. Francesca Hong faces Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley — except Khanna, who is backing Hong.
Tuesday’s primaries continue a trend of potential future presidential candidates finding themselves on opposing sides. Khanna, Van Hollen and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York backed former public health official Abdul El-Sayed in his winning Michigan Senate primary bid last week, while Gallego and Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer backed Rep. Haley Stevens.
Not every potential 2028 candidate has been a major endorser in primaries. Former Vice President Kamala Harris has largely stayed on the sidelines — endorsing El-Sayed last week only after he won the primary. Harris did record a robocall for Texas Rep. Jasmine Crockett’s unsuccessful Senate primary campaign earlier this year, though she didn’t put out a public statement.
A handful of Democratic governors, including JB Pritzker in Illinois, Josh Shapiro in Pennsylvania and Wes Moore in Maryland have mostly stuck to endorsing in their own states.
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