Emanuel loads up on 2028 ideas. Anyone listening?
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Former Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel at a conference in Beverly Hills, Calif., on May 5. Photo: Patrick T. Fallon / AFP via Getty Images
Former Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel has been blasting out more national policy papers than any other potential 2028 presidential candidate.
- So far, polls show few voters care.
Why it matters: Emanuel has gotten national coverage for his plans, has hit the podcast circuit, appears regularly on CNN and writes a column for the Wall Street Journal. But he's barely a blip in early 2028 polls, as other potential candidates such as California Gov. Gavin Newsom have risen over the past year.
By the numbers: A national poll by Echelon Insights in April had Emanuel's support as an asterisk — less than 1% — behind California Rep. Ro Khanna's 1% and Georgia Sen. Jon Ossoff's 2%.
- Of 690 New Hampshire Democrats polled by St. Anselm College in March, just five said they support Emanuel.
- A University of New Hampshire poll in February pegged Emanuel's support at 0%.
- In March, a UC Berkeley survey found that fewer than 0.5% supported Emanuel as their first choice and just 1% backed him as their second choice.
The other side: It's early.
- Most voters aren't paying attention. Emanuel has been White House chief of staff and ambassador to Japan but has run for office only in Illinois, so he doesn't have the name recognition of other political figures.
- Some national polls didn't include Emanuel as a possible 2028 contender in their questions, so it's unclear what his support would have been.
What they're saying: Asked why he thought his polling remained low and what his plan was to fix it, Emanuel told Axios: "I'm not worried about my 1% in the polls. I'm worried about the 1% that has turned its back on the rest of America, and that's what my plans and my policy ideas address."
- He added: "As always, D.C. has too much time on its hands.… We're not in the first inning. We're not in the pregame. We aren't even in spring training, and you're asking me about the World Series."
Zoom in: Emanuel has been operating, however, as if the 2028 campaign is well underway. He's proposed policies that include:
- Work training for retired service members
- Mandatory retirement for politicians at age 75
- A federal tax on online gambling and prediction markets
- Tax credits for first-time homebuyers
- Diverting ICE funding to community colleges.
He's already visited several states that will be key in the 2028 Democratic primary, including Nevada, South Carolina, Michigan and New Hampshire, where he'll return for a bike tour next month.
Between the lines: Emanuel is quick to criticize his own party and the political establishment, but his proximity to D.C. politics over multiple decades could fall flat with an electorate angry at the status quo.
- He worked in the Clinton and Obama administrations, was a member of Congress, and is in touch with a large network of reporters, opinion-makers and Democratic operatives.
- As former President Obama wrote of Emanuel in his memoir: "Having spent most of his career in Washington, the daily news cycle was how he kept score — not just on the administration's performance, but on his own place in the world."
