2028 United States presidential election
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538 members of the Electoral College 270 electoral votes needed to win | |||||||
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2028 electoral map, based on 2020 census | |||||||
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The 2028 United States presidential election will be the 61st quadrennial presidential election, scheduled for Tuesday, November 7, 2028.[1] Voters will elect a president and vice president to a term of four years. Republican president-elect Donald Trump, elected in 2016 and 2024, is ineligible to seek re-election to a third term due to the term limits established by the Twenty-second Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.[2]
After winning the 2016 U.S. presidential election and losing the 2020 U.S. presidential election, Trump launched a campaign for a second non-consecutive term, securing the Republican nomination and selecting U.S. Senator JD Vance as his running mate. Trump went on to win the 2024 U.S. presidential election against incumbent Democratic vice president Kamala Harris and secure a second, non-consecutive term in office. His term is set to expire at noon on January 20, 2029, when the winners of the 2028 election will be inaugurated as the 48th president and the 51st vice president of the United States.
As the vice president-elect of the United States, JD Vance is considered a frontrunner for the Republican nomination for president, although Florida governor Ron DeSantis (who ran for the nomination in 2024) is seen as a potential contender. On the Democratic side, Harris, outgoing Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg (who ran for the nomination in 2020), and governors Gavin Newsom (California), Josh Shapiro (Pennsylvania), and Gretchen Whitmer (Michigan) are considered potential contenders for the presidential nomination.[citation needed]
This presidential election will take place alongside elections to the U.S. Senate (34 seats), the U.S. House of Representatives (all 435 seats), and gubernatorial elections in 11 states and two territories.
Background
The Republican Party, represented by Donald Trump and JD Vance, came to power following the 2024 election. Trump, who was elected president in 2016 but lost a re-election bid in 2020 to Joe Biden, defeated vice president Kamala Harris, who began her campaign following Biden's exit from the 2024 election. Trump's victory was credited to a surge in inflation and an immigration crisis.[3] Republicans secured control of the U.S. Senate and neared a U.S. House majority, although several House races have not been called as of November 13.[4]
Electoral system
The president and vice president of the United States are elected through the Electoral College, a group of 538 presidential electors who convene to vote for the president and vice president. The number of electors in the Electoral College is determined through the total number of senators and representatives with an additional three representatives for Washington, D.C.. Electors cast votes for the president and vice president; the winner is elected through a majority of 270 votes. If the election ends in a tie, a contingent election occurs, in which the House of Representatives votes on the president and the Senate votes on the vice president. Forty-eight states use a winner-take-all system in which states award all of their electors to the winner of the popular vote. In Maine and Nebraska, two votes are allocated to the winner of the popular vote, while each of the individual congressional districts have one vote. Electoral votes are certified by state electors in December and by Congress on January 6.[5]
Presidential candidates are selected in a presidential primary, conducted through primary elections or caucuses. The results of primary elections, ran by state governments, and caucuses, ran by state parties, bind convention delegates to candidates. The Democratic Party mandates a proportional allocation if a candidate receives at least fifteen percent in a given congressional district, while the Republican Party gives state parties the authority to allocate all of the delegates to a candidate within the "proportionality window", set by the first two weeks of March. After the window, state parties may set individual rules.[6] A brokered convention occurs when a candidate does not receive a majority of votes on the first round of voting,[7] or when a candidate withdraws.[8]
Article Two of the United States Constitution states that for a person to serve as president, the individual must be a natural-born citizen of the United States, be at least 35 years of age, and have been a United States resident for at least 14 years.[9] The Twenty-second Amendment forbids any person from being elected president more than twice.[10][11]
Electoral map
This section needs additional citations for verification. (November 2024) |
Swing states
Most U.S. states are not highly competitive in presidential elections, often voting consistently for the same party due to longstanding demographic differences. In the Electoral College, this results in major-party candidates primarily focusing their campaigns on swing states, which can swing between parties from election to election. These states are critical for a presidential candidate's path to victory. For 2028, the expected swing states likely include the Rust Belt states of Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, and Michigan, as well as the Sun Belt states of Arizona, Georgia, Nevada, and North Carolina,[12] all of which were narrowly won by Trump in 2024.[13][14][15] Newsweek has also suggested that Minnesota, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico and Virginia could become swing states.[16]
Red states
Red states, also known as the red wall or red sea, are states that consistently vote Republican at the national level. The red wall has rarely been broken, as these states almost never swing. The last significant breach of the red wall occurred in the 1992 United States presidential election. Formerly considered swing states, such as Florida, Iowa, and Ohio, voted for Trump in all three of his elections, with increasing margins in each election that suggest that they are no longer swing states.[17][18][19]
Blue states
Blue states are states that consistently vote Democratic at the national level. The blue states in 2024 include what is sometimes called the blue wall,[20] as well as Colorado, New Hampshire, New Mexico, and Virginia, formerly swing states have become reliably blue since 2008.[21] Due to its recent record of voting Democratic even during Republican national wins, Nebraska's 2nd congressional district is also sometimes considered blue.[22]
Republican Party
Potential candidates
Individuals listed below have been mentioned as potential 2028 presidential candidates in at least two reliable media sources in the last six months.
Ron DeSantis
Ron DeSantis has served as the governor of Florida since 2019. DeSantis has demonstrated a potential for being a candidate in the 2028 presidential primaries, stating that Trump voters in Iowa told him that they would vote for him in 2028.[23] He appeared in a debate with California governor Gavin Newsom in November 2023, in what was viewed by NBC News as a precursor to a 2028 presidential bid.[24]
JD Vance
JD Vance has served as a senator of Ohio since 2023 and is the vice president-elect after winning the 2024 election as Trump's running mate. Vance is the frontrunner in the election, according to The New York Times's Nate Cohn,[25] and the "MAGA heir-apparent" according to USA Today,[26] as well as The Columbus Dispatch.[27] The Hill stated that Vance's debate performance against Minnesota governor Tim Walz in October 2024 improved his status as a presidential contender.[28]
Glenn Youngkin
Glenn Youngkin has served as the governor of Virginia since 2022. Youngkin has been reported as a possible candidate by Politico.[29] According to The Washington Post, he is "appearing to lay the groundwork" for a 2028 presidential bid.[30]
Democratic Party
Potential candidates
Individuals listed below have been mentioned as potential 2028 presidential candidates in at least two reliable media sources in the last six months.
Kamala Harris
Kamala Harris has served as the vice president of the United States since 2021 and became the nominee for president in the 2024 U.S presidential election after president Joe Biden dropped out of the race on July 21, 2024. She ended up losing the election to Donald Trump.[31] Harris, who has the largest donor network in the Democratic Party, could run as president in 2028 according to The New York Times,[31] as well as Politico,[32] although her loss could serve as a disadvantage.[31] According to USA Today, Harris intended to run in 2028 before Biden withdrew from the 2024 election and endorsed Harris.[33]
Gavin Newsom
Gavin Newsom has served as the governor of California since 2019. Newsom has been viewed as a contender for the 2028 presidential election by Politico[32] and The Washington Post after he garnered national attention by December 2023,[34] and he was seen as a potential replacement for Biden after his withdrawal from the 2024 election by The New York Times.[35] According to The New York Times, Newsom was considering a bid for the presidency by September 2023.[36] In November 2023, he appeared in a debate with Florida governor Ron DeSantis, in an event that was viewed as a precursor to a presidential bid by NBC News.[24] According to Axios, Newsom and J. B. Pritzker donated to Charleston, South Carolina, mayoral candidate Clay Middleton, signaling a presidential ambition.[37]
Josh Shapiro
Josh Shapiro has served as the governor of Pennsylvania since 2023. Shapiro has been seen as a critical figure in Pennsylvania by Democratic strategists and officials, according to Politico,[32] as a politician who could garner votes from white working-class voters, according to CNN.[38] He was said to be a front-runner in the primary by The Philadelphia Inquirer.[39] According to The New York Times, Shapiro was seen as a potential replacement for Biden.[35]
J. B. Pritzker
J. B. Pritzker has served as the governor of Illinois since 2019. Pritzker has privately discussed running in 2028, according to the Chicago Sun-Times.[40] With Newsom, he donated to Middleton.[37]
Gretchen Whitmer
Gretchen Whitmer has served as the governor of Michigan since 2019. Whitmer has been discussed as a contender in 2028, although she distanced herself from speculation in an interview with Lulu Garcia-Navarro of The New York Times Magazine in June 2024.[41] She disavowed a movement to replace Biden.[42]
Opinion polling
Poll source | Date(s) administered | Sample size[a] | Tucker Carlson |
Ron DeSantis |
Nikki Haley |
Vivek Ramaswamy |
JD Vance |
Other/ Undecided |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
2024 United States presidential election held. | ||||||||
Echelon Insights | July 19–21, 2024 | 982 (RV) | – | 14% | 9% | 10% | 25% | 16%[b] |
Echelon Insights | January 16–18, 2024 | 832 (RV) | 6% | 27% | 19% | 18% | 1% | 29%[c] |
Poll source | Date(s) administered | Sample size[a] | Pete Buttigieg |
Kamala Harris |
Gavin Newsom |
Other/ Undecided | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
2024 United States presidential election held. | ||||||||
Morning Consult/Politico | May 28–29, 2024 | 3,997 (RV) | 10% | 21% | 10% | 11%[d] | ||
Echelon Insights | January 16–18, 2024 | 499 (RV) | 13% | 33% | 11% | 43%[e] |
Notes
- ^ a b Key:
A – all adults
RV – registered voters
LV – likely voters
V – unclear - ^ Ted Cruz with 4%; Sarah Huckabee Sanders with 3%; Josh Hawley, Marco Rubio, and Tim Scott with 2%; Katie Britt, Byron Donalds, and Glenn Youngkin with 1%; Undecided with 21%
- ^ Greg Abbott with 3%; Kari Lake and Glenn Youngkin with 2%; Tom Cotton, Byron Donalds, Josh Hawley, Brian Kemp, and Elise Stefanik with 1%; Katie Britt with 0%; Undecided with 17%
- ^ Mark Kelly and Gretchen Whitmer with 4%; Josh Shapiro with 3%; "Don't know/No opinion" with 41% and "Someone else" with 7%
- ^ J. B. Pritzker and Gretchen Whitmer with 3%; John Fetterman, Josh Shapiro, and Raphael Warnock with 2%; Andy Beshear and Wes Moore with 1%; Undecided with 29%
References
- ^ "Election Planning Calendar" (PDF). Essex-Virginia.org. Essex County, Virginia. Archived (PDF) from the original on February 7, 2016. Retrieved February 6, 2016.
- ^ Jones, Erin; Loe, Megan (November 6, 2024). "No, Donald Trump cannot run for president again in 2028". KGW. Archived from the original on November 8, 2024.
- ^ Goldmacher, Shane; Lerer, Lisa (November 6, 2024). "Donald Trump Returns to Power, Ushering in New Era of Uncertainty". The New York Times. Retrieved November 11, 2024.
- ^ Sotomayor, Marianna; Vazquez, Maegan (November 12, 2024). "Republicans inch toward 'trifecta' control of House, Senate, White House". The Washington Post. Retrieved November 11, 2024.
- ^ Hassan, Adeel (November 2, 2024). "What to Know About the Electoral College". The New York Times. Retrieved November 11, 2024.
- ^ Putnam, Josh (May 12, 2015). "Everything you need to know about how the presidential primary works". The Washington Post. Retrieved November 11, 2024.
- ^ Cramer, Maria (February 27, 2020). "A Brokered Convention? Here's What's Happened Before". The New York Times. Retrieved November 11, 2024.
- ^ Bink, Addy (July 21, 2024). "After Biden drops out of 2024 race, does Kamala Harris become the Democratic nominee? Not exactly". The Hill. Retrieved November 11, 2024.
- ^ "The 2nd Article of the U.S. Constitution". National Constitution Center – constitutioncenter.org. Retrieved November 8, 2024.
- ^ "The 22nd Amendment of the U.S. Constitution". National Constitution Center. Retrieved November 8, 2024.
- ^ Zhou, Li (November 8, 2024). "Can Trump run again in 2028? Here's what you need to know". Vox. Retrieved November 13, 2024.
- ^ Rotondi, Jessica Pearce (January 3, 2024). "What Are Swing States and Why Are They Critical in US Elections?". History. Retrieved November 13, 2024.
- ^ Mallinson, Daniel J. (November 7, 2024). "How Trump won Pennsylvania − and what the numbers from key counties show about the future of a pivotal swing state". The Conversation. Retrieved November 13, 2024.
- ^ Wolf, Zachary B. (November 9, 2024). "Analysis: Trump's win was real but not a landslide. Here's where it ranks". CNN. Retrieved November 13, 2024.
- ^ Sedghi, Amy (November 10, 2024). "Trump wins Arizona to clinch sweep of seven battleground states". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved November 13, 2024.
- ^ Reporter, Martha McHardy US News (November 7, 2024). "Donald Trump just created five new swing states for 2028". Newsweek. Retrieved November 13, 2024.
- ^ Kondik, Kyle (August 29, 2023). "No, Ohio Is Not in Play". Retrieved November 8, 2024.
- ^ Bischoff, Laura A. (November 8, 2024). "What's the future for Ohio Democrats after huge election losses?". The Columbus Dispatch. Retrieved November 8, 2024.
- ^ Kephart, Tim (November 6, 2024). "Florida joins the rest of the Deep South as a Republican stronghold". ABC Action News. Retrieved November 8, 2024.
- ^ "The Latest: Harris keeps a focus on 'blue wall' states in the campaign's final weeks". AP News. October 17, 2024.
- ^ Mejia, Elena; Skelley, Geoffrey (December 8, 2020). "How The 2020 Election Changed The Electoral Map". Archived from the original on April 14, 2022. Retrieved March 19, 2021.
- ^ Weisman, Jonathan; Epstein, Reid J. (September 21, 2024). "How One Man's Vote in Nebraska Could Change the Presidential Election Reid J. Epstein". The New York Times.
- ^ Nehamas, Nicholas (January 19, 2024). "Ron DeSantis Is Quietly Starting to Build His Off-Ramp From 2024". The New York Times. Retrieved March 8, 2024.
- ^ a b Allen, Jonathan (November 30, 2023). "Gavin Newsom and Ron DeSantis battle for the presidency — in one election or the next". NBC News. Retrieved November 11, 2024.
- ^ Cohn, Nate (July 16, 2024). "How Will Vance Affect the Race? Look at 2028, Not 2024". The New York Times. Retrieved November 11, 2024.
- ^ Pfannenstiel, Brianne (July 17, 2024). "JD Vance is now the MAGA heir-apparent. Does that make him the front-runner for 2028?". USA Today. Retrieved November 11, 2024.
- ^ BeMiller, Haley (October 4, 2024). "After VP debate, JD Vance cements status as MAGA heir apparent in 2028". The Columbus Dispatch. Retrieved November 11, 2024.
- ^ Weaver, Al (October 3, 2024). "Debate performance gives Vance 2028 White House boost". The Hill. Retrieved November 11, 2024.
- ^ Martin, Jonathan (June 12, 2024). "What Happened to Glenn Youngkin?". Politico. Retrieved November 12, 2024.
- ^ Vozzella, Laura (July 16, 2024). "After last-minute VP frenzy, Youngkin seems to lay groundwork for 2028". The Washington Post. Retrieved November 12, 2024.
- ^ a b c Epstein, Reid; Rogers, Katie; Green, Eric (November 7, 2024). "What's Next for Kamala Harris? Here Are Six Options". The New York Times. Retrieved November 11, 2024.
- ^ a b c Wren, Adam; Cadelago, Christopher; Kashinsky, Lisa; Otterbein, Holly; Schneider, Elena (November 11, 2024). "Who will lead Democrats in 2028? Meet the leaders positioning themselves to make moves". Politico. Retrieved November 11, 2024.
- ^ Chambers, Francesca (November 7, 2024). "Burdened by what had been: Kamala Harris couldn't convince voters". USA Today. Retrieved November 11, 2024.
- ^ Reston, Maeve (December 1, 2023). "Gavin Newsom 2028? His early moves offer a potential glimpse". The Washington Post. Retrieved November 11, 2024.
- ^ a b Cameron, Chris; Nagourney, Adam (June 28, 2024). "Who Will Replace Biden at the Top of the Ticket?". The New York Times. Retrieved November 11, 2024.
- ^ Nagourney, Adam (September 28, 2023). "Newsom Is in the Spin Room to Pump Up Biden, and Maybe Himself". The New York Times. Retrieved November 11, 2024.
- ^ a b Thompson, Alex (November 6, 2023). "Newsom, Pritzker signal White House ambitions in donations to S. Carolina candidate". Axios. Retrieved November 11, 2024.
- ^ Dovere, Edward-Isaac (November 10, 2024). "Still-stunned Democrats begin to squint toward their future". CNN. Retrieved November 11, 2024.
- ^ McGoldrick, Gilliam (November 7, 2024). "Welcome to the 2028 presidential election cycle, where Pa. Gov. Josh Shapiro is a front-runner". The Philadelphia Inquirer. Retrieved November 11, 2024.
- ^ Sfondeles, Tina (November 8, 2024). "JB Pritzker studies Project 2025 and Trump, ponders his own political future". Chicago Sun-Times. Retrieved November 11, 2024.
- ^ Garcia-Navarro, Lulu (June 22, 2024). "Gretchen Whitmer Wants a Gen X President — in 2028". The New York Times Magazine. Retrieved November 11, 2024.
- ^ Martin, Jonathan (July 1, 2024). "Whitmer Disavows 'Draft Gretch' Movement — and Delivers A Warning to Biden". Politico. Retrieved November 11, 2024.