Veteran political journalist Mark Halperin has released his first “8 for ’28” rankings of potential Democratic presidential contenders since the midterm elections, but as with any early horse race, he acknowledges there’s a chance many of those on the list won’t even run for president. Also, the two men at the top share one enormous problem.
Gov. Josh Shapiro (D-Pa.) and Sen. Jon Ossoff (D-Ga.) claim the top two spots, in that order, after convincingly winning reelection in battleground states.
The two men were the biggest winners of the midterms, and Halperin argues they are the only two Democrats most Republicans he talks to genuinely fear facing in a general election. Ossoff jumped from No. 8 on last month’s list, and Halperin says he easily could have ranked him No. 1 after talking with Democratic sources, who were most impressed by both men’s communication and fundraising abilities.
But the obvious problem is that both are Jewish, a big negative for the increasingly antisemitic Democratic Party. Halperin wonders whether two hypothetical developments might make that more palatable: Benjamin Netanyahu no longer being Israel’s prime minister and the Iran war receding from the headlines. He also notes that Ossoff is less culturally Jewish and observant than Shapiro, so “maybe he cheats the difference there.”
If you think the antisemites in the Democratic Party will be okay with a Jew who doesn’t observe the Sabbath and criticizes Netanyahu, watch this video of California state Sen. Scott Wiener (D-11th District), who is Jewish and as progressive as they come, being harassed at a trans march in San Francisco.
Nevertheless, Halperin says Republicans like National Review Editor-in-Chief Rich Lowry fear Ossoff right now because of one thing: electability. Halperin points to not only his Obama-esque cadences but also the similarity of his campaign logos to Barack Obama’s, a sign that he’s going after that hope-and-change vibe. PJ Media Managing Editor Chris Queen, who lives in Georgia, wrote about how Ossoff seems to think he’s the next Obama in a piece earlier this year.
Maybe in select clips, he can pull that off, but Chris’s analysis from on the ground in Georgia suggests he’d have a lot of trouble duplicating Obama’s electoral success were he ever to get the nomination: “Ossoff is undoubtedly an ambitious little dweeb, and he obviously has enough Obama-level arrogance to think that he’s presidential material. Ask any normal Georgia resident, and he or she will tell you otherwise.”
Related: When Ossoff Claims His Support for Israel Is ‘Ironclad,’ I Wonder If He Knows What the Word Means
While the prediction markets currently have Ossoff at No. 1, Halperin went with Shapiro in the top spot because he still thinks the governor is more likely to run than the senator, whose kids are only 4 and 1, although he acknowledges that Ossoff may be the best guy to unite the socialist and establishment wings of the party.
But the socialists will still have a candidate, and Halperin says New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-14th District) is the most likely, which is why he has her at No. 3 on the list. Others could join her in the top 8 in future rankings: there’s a group trying to get California Rep. Ro Khanna (D-17th District) to run, and he doesn’t rule out Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) taking one more crack at it.
While Halperin doesn’t have AOC on the list of those whom Republicans most fear facing in a general election, one Republican, former Daily Wire CEO Jeremy Boreing, thinks they should fear her. In this clip, he calls her a generational political talent and warns his party not to underestimate her instincts.
Gov. Gavin Newsom (D-Calif.) held the top spot in most of Halperin’s previous rankings but fell to No. 4 this month because Halperin thinks AOC, Ossoff, and Shapiro have more momentum after the midterms. “If you told me Shapiro, Ossoff, AOC, and Newsom weren’t running, I wouldn’t be the least bit surprised,” Halperin said.
Former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, whom Halperin ranks fifth, is the only one in the top five who Halperin is sure is entering the race. He’s also unsure whether Kamala Harris (No. 6) and Sen. Mark Kelly (D-Ariz.), at No. 8, will launch a bid. In Halperin’s view, Gov. Andy Beshear (No. 7) is the one other safe bet to seek the nomination.
According to Halperin, the “Democratic nomination is extremely valuable” right now in the wake of the party’s midterm success because the eventual nominee will likely be favored to win. Ben Shapiro seems to agree. On November 5, he said, “Whatever happens among the Republican candidates, 2028 is obviously an uphill battle for Republicans now.”
An uphill battle, perhaps, but looking at the names on Halperin’s list, it’s one Republicans should welcome.
Editor’s Note: President Trump is leading America into the “Golden Age” as Democrats desperately try to stop it.
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