Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg speaks during a news conference in Long Beach, California, on July 18, 2024. (Tim Rue/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
A source familiar with Buttigieg's thinking told Fox News that the former transportation secretary is in a strong possible position to run for president in 2028 and that running for either senator or Michigan governor "in 2026 would have taken that off the table."
NEWSOM MAKES MAJOR HEADLINES IN INAGURAL EDITION OF HIS NEW PODCAST
Across the country, term-limited California Gov. Gavin Newsom – who has long been suspected of harboring national ambitions – is grabbing tons of attention and millions of YouTube hits thanks to a new and very high-profile podcast series.
The first two guests were MAGA world superstars Charlie Kirk and Steve Bannon.
Gov. J.B. Pritzker is interviewed by Fox News Digital at the Democratic National Convention, on Aug. 22, 2024, in Chicago. (Paul Steinhauser)
But there's more.
There is plenty of focus on former Vice President Kamala Harris, who replaced Biden as the Democratic Party's 2024 presidential nominee last summer after he dropped out of the race amid mounting questions over his physical and mental stamina.
KAMALA HARRIS REVEALS TIMETABLE FOR MAJOR POLITICAL DECISION
Harris, who lost last November's White House election to Trump, is seriously considering a 2026 bid to succeed Newsom in her home state of California. But a run for governor in 2026 would likely derail her from making a 2028 White House bid.
A source in the former vice president's political orbit confirmed to Fox News Digital that Harris has told allies she will decide by the end of summer on whether to launch a gubernatorial campaign.
And Harris recently made a stop in Nevada, an early-voting state in the Democrats' primary calendar.
Gov. Tim Walz at the DNC in Chicago in August 2024. (Getty Images)
That was the case for the Republicans in the 2024 cycle.
The first stop in Iowa, which continues to kick off the GOP's presidential nominating schedule, in the 2024 cycle by a potential White House contender came in March 2021 – just weeks after Biden assumed the presidency.
Former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo – who eventually ended up not running for president – grabbed plenty of attention as he spoke to the Westside Conservative Club in suburban Des Moines.
"There's no sense in waiting," New Hampshire-based political strategist Lucas Meyer told Fox News. "If anyone is serious about running for president, they would probably be well served in getting after it now."
Meyer, a former president of the New Hampshire Young Democrats who chairs the advocacy group 603 Forward, called it a "wide open field" for Democrats.
"The crowd of leadership at the top of the Democratic Party isn't very deep at the moment," he observed. "There's oxygen there for someone."
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/democrats-making-early-moves-line-up-2028-presidential-bids