Some Dems' 2028 strategy: Make America Nice Again
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Some Democrats weighing 2028 campaigns for president believe the midterms proved that Americans have soured on Trump-style, scorched-earth political warfare and want a brand of politics that's nicer and more optimistic. Others aren't so sure.
Why it matters: Democrats' midterm blowout has prompted a debate over the lessons of 2026 — whether voters in the 2028 primary will want their own ruthless fighter after two more years of President Trump, or will be itching for a more unifying figure.
Zoom in: That divide was reflected in several potential 2028 contenders' comments around the midterms.
- Former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg told his supporters that the end of the Trump era "means a politics where we can check the news and actually feel our blood pressure come down a little."
- In his reelection victory speech, Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro told supporters that "you declared that you could not be more ready for an end of this ruthless chaos and cruelty."
In California, Gov. Gavin Newsom — who led the successful ballot measure to create more Democratic House seats in response to Trump's redistricting push in red states — boasted that California "fought fire with fire."
- Newsom mocked Democrats who he said would have responded by merely writing op-eds in the New York Times.
- "Donald Trump is not screwing around, nor are we," Newsom said at a preelection rally, adding that he was proud of leading the "most un-Trump state in America."
The big picture: The midterm results provided an argument for each side.
- Several key victories for Democrats in red states came from candidates preaching decency, or voters recoiling from vicious Republican attacks.
- In Kansas, Sen.-elect Adam Hamilton said one of his campaign's big ideas was "decency" — and that he wanted to become the "best friend" of Sen. Jerry Moran (R-Kan.).
- In Ohio, Gov.-elect Amy Acton told her supporters that "basic decency is on the ballot" after her opponent and Vice President Vance defended an attack ad featuring Acton's mother, from whom Acton had been estranged since childhood after accusing her stepfather of sexual abuse.
Texas Sen.-elect James Talarico, a seminarian and the first Democrat to be elected statewide in three decades, said that "love my neighbor" informed his approach to politics.
- In Denver last week at a gathering of Democratic leaders, Talarico pressed the point: "It's been 10 years of this kind of politics — politics as blood sport, politics as trolling and owning and name-calling, politics as professional wrestling. It tears families apart. It ends friendships, and it leaves us all feeling terrible all of the time."
The other side: Other Democrats who won key races embraced something like Newsom's edgier approach by pledging to fight fire with fire, and to not unilaterally disarm against Republicans.
- Michigan Sen.-elect Abdul El-Sayed said on the campaign trail that when his opponents go low, he doesn't take the higher ground. He prefers to take them "to the mud and choke them out."
- He added that too many Democrats "tell you they're fighting, only to show up with a strongly worded letter."
Reality check: Hamilton, Acton and Talarico had unifying messages, but they and their allies also ran tens of millions of dollars in negative ads against their Republican opponents.
- In 2008, Barack Obama also had a larger theme of change and unity but ran a campaign that unapologetically attacked his opponents.
