Meet the Democrats considered the top candidates for 2028 — or maybe sooner

President Biden is determined to continue his re-election campaign in 2024, despite calls from some Democrats to consider dropping out because they fear his poor performance in last week’s debate means the party will lose in November.

Texas Democratic Rep. Lloyd Doggett was the first Democrat in Congress to publicly call on Biden to step down. Other party leaders have said Biden is best suited to take on former President Donald Trump.

But overall, the conversation raised a key question for the party: If not Biden, then who?

Several Democrats believed to have presidential ambitions for the 2028 election are now being highlighted as potential Biden replacements for 2024 — although they have all said they support the president’s candidacy.

Democratic activists like Adrianne Shropshire, who heads BlackPAC, said removing Biden from the list of candidates was a bad idea for those candidates now — and in the future.

“What they don’t want to do is find themselves in a situation where, four or eight years from now, when they try to run, the American people, including Democrats, will have lost confidence in the party itself to run itself,” Shropshire said.

Here is a list of some of the names mentioned:

Vice President Kamala Harris

Already No. 2 on the list, several current and former Democratic leaders have said Harris is the clear and unique choice to replace Biden. Harris, 59, has a national profile and name recognition that other contenders wouldn’t have time to build before November.

She has consistently been a major fundraiser for Biden and the party. She has also traveled more for the campaign, with events aimed at engaging with voters of color, young voters and women — particularly on reproductive rights issues, a focal point of the Biden campaign since the Supreme Court decision. Dobbs decision in 2022.

Harris, like Biden, has had low approval ratings. Early in her career as vice president, she stumbled in her handling of the root causes of immigration. But she has developed her foreign policy credentials. Some in the party, such as close Biden ally Rep. Jim Clyburn, D-S.C., and progressive Rep. Summer Lee, D-Pa., have said they would support Harris if Biden steps down.

Harris, however, has not hesitated to endorse Biden, telling a CBS reporter this week: “Joe Biden is our nominee. We beat Trump once and we’re going to beat him again.”

California Governor Gavin Newsom

A former San Francisco mayor, Newsom, 56, is serving his second term as governor, having survived a recall election in 2021. He is known for his progressive policies, including prisoner rehabilitation, public drug treatment clinics for overdose patients and new legal strategies to promote gun control.

Newsom has long been an adversary of conservatives, most notably debating Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis last year in a prime-time debate on Fox News. He has worked to boost his profile by traveling across the country, as well as to Israel and China.

There have been some scandals in his political career, dating back to before his first run for governor in 2008, but he remains a prominent party leader who has remained loyal to Biden and helped raise money for the campaign. After the Atlanta presidential debate, Newsom was in the Biden campaign chat room, defending the president.

Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer

Whitmer, a Biden campaign co-chair, gained national attention during the COVID-19 pandemic with her strict stay-at-home orders. Three men were later convicted of supporting a plot to kidnap her over her COVID policies.

As governor of a swing state, Whitmer has championed gun safety legislation, electric car manufacturing and abortion rights. Whitmer, 52, has repeatedly pledged her support for Biden in 2024. Her upcoming political memoir, “True Gretch,” will be published in July and could further boost her national profile.