🏛️ The dozen-plus Democrats with White House ambitions aren't the only ones gearing up for the 2028 campaign slog: Political foes now see spouses as fair game, so potential candidates' partners are prepping for the vitriol — in wildly different ways.

Why it matters: Would-be first ladies and first gentlemen already are building public profiles — some with vigorous enthusiasm, others not so much.

• The partners with the sharpest contrast in their approaches are Jennifer Siebel Newsom and Lori Shapiro — the wives of California Gov. Gavin Newsom and Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro, respectively.
• Siebel Newsom frequently opines on political issues, gets in spats with the press, and is active on social media. Lori Shapiro rarely talks politics and became a bit more present on social media only after the 2024 election.

😬 When then-President Biden dropped his reelection bid in 2024 and Josh Shapiro briefly considered a move for the Democratic nomination, he could sense his wife was "full of trepidation," he wrote in his recent book, "Where We Keep the Light."

• Shapiro recounts Lori telling him: "I don't think we are ready to do this. It's not the right time for our family. And it's not on our terms."
• Shapiro also wrote that Kamala Harris' vetting team told him that Lori was "going to have to get all new clothes and pay for people to do her hair and makeup" — remarks he considered "nasty."

💥 Siebel Newsom, who goes by first partner of California rather than first lady, enthusiastically weighs in on political issues — especially those specific to women.

• She's promoting her new documentary, "Miss Representation: Rise Up," which premieres at the Tribeca Film Festival in June.
• She has more than 325,000 followers on Instagram. (Lori Shapiro has about 8,000.)

🎯 Siebel Newsom's more public approach has brought more scrutiny, along with attacks from Republicans who've been digging through her public remarks looking for ways to undermine a potential Newsom campaign for president.

• Anonymous right-wing accounts on X have posted several old videos of Siebel Newsom in recent weeks, which have racked up millions of views and been played across conservative media.
• One viral video features her talking about changing protagonists from male to female in children's books she has read to her sons "because I want them to see that women can be the center of a story."

🔭 Zoom out: Other spouses of potential contenders have established political roles that generally fall between Siebel Newsom's and Lori Shapiro's.

• Arizona Sen. Mark Kelly's wife, former Rep. Gabby Giffords, is frequently by his side at political events.
• His political operation is intertwined with her group that focuses on preventing gun violence.

Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker's wife, MK (Mary Kathryn) Muenster Pritzker, is a political and philanthropic force, though somewhat behind the scenes.

• She was a director of the Pritzker Family Foundation from 2002 to 2017, doling out tens of millions of dollars for programs aimed at helping at-risk children and other groups.
• She contributes to candidates, including last fall to Maine Senate contender Janet Mills, whom her husband hasn't endorsed in that contentious primary.

New Jersey Sen. Cory Booker's wife, Alexis Lewis Booker, has been present during his recent book tour.

• She also posts frequently on social media. Some conservatives blasted her for a recent video in which she said she was worried about Booker's safety when he delivered a record-breaking 25-hour speech on the Senate floor last year.
• Spokespeople for Newsom, Shapiro, Booker and Pritzker declined to comment or didn't respond to requests.

The husbands of potential candidates also are navigating their public personas.

• Chasten Glezman Buttigieg (husband of former Transportation Secretary Pete) and former second gentleman Doug Emhoff (Harris' husband) have largely been in the background — except to promote their partners on social media.

Read more.

— Alex Thompson, Holly Otterbein

🤖 Maryland Gov. Wes Moore will host AI executives from Microsoft and other tech companies for dinner at his official mansion in Annapolis tomorrow to discuss protecting the state from cyberattacks in the "Mythos era," Axios has learned.

🤫 Why it matters: The private conversation offers a glimpse into how state officials are scrambling to deal with the benefits and threats of rapidly evolving AI, as the Trump administration takes a laissez-faire approach to regulating it.

• AI is likely to be a top issue in the 2028 presidential race, and Moore — who's widely seen as a potential contender — could benefit from positioning himself as a leader on the topic.
• Many Democrats also are eager to win over Silicon Valley CEOs after some in the tech industry broke with the party in 2024 and backed Donald Trump.
• AI safety experts are expected to join the conversation tomorrow too.

Zoom in: Anthropic revealed this month that its new model, Claude Mythos Preview, poses such massive cybersecurity risks it can't be released publicly.

• The company said it disclosed the new model's frightening abilities to sound the alarm about heightened AI threats.
• ⚠️ Governments and corporations have expressed concerns about the risks raised by Mythos.

Moore has been holding private conversations about AI with OpenAI CEO Sam Altman and Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei over the last year, a person close to the governor told us.

Read more.

— Holly Otterbein

🚀 Democratic Party officials are launching their in-person vetting of potential 2028 convention sites this week, with trips to the finalist cities — Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Denver and Philadelphia.

Why it matters: The Democratic National Convention is a crucial time for the party to reach a large national audience to make its case for retaking the White House in 2028.

• Teams representing the contending cities already are knifing one another to try to land the event, which can bring prestige and an economic boost from tens of thousands of visitors.

The intrigue: Each city has a team and allies trying to land the convention by promoting their city — and trying to undermine the others.

• 🗣️ Already, whisper campaigns are pointing out the potential flaws of each finalist:
• Atlanta doesn't have enough union hotels, Chicago hosted the convention in 2024, Boston signals "liberal elite," Denver isn't in a swing state — and Philadelphia, the 2016 host, is a reminder of the year Hillary Clinton lost the election.

Democratic National Committee chair Ken Martin and Alex Hornbrook, the executive director of the 2024 Democratic National Convention, are overseeing the selection process.

Between the lines: Politicking, money, messaging and logistical capacity will decide which city lands the convention.

• There's also Democratic nostalgia — and trauma — for some cities that can affect the final choice.

🥇 Many Democrats fondly remember the 2008 convention in Denver that ultimately led to Barack Obama's victory.

• 🤕 Others have terrible memories associated with the 2016 convention in Philadelphia. Just before that convention, WikiLeaks posted thousands of internal DNC emails showing party officials favored Clinton over Bernie Sanders.
• 15 weeks later, Trump was elected president.

Read more.

— Alex Thompson

A look at what potential 2028 Democratic presidential contenders are up to:

• Arizona Sen. Ruben Gallego tried to distance himself from former Rep. Eric Swalwell after the ex-congressman was accused of sexual assault. "I have to learn from this, and I will learn from this," Gallego said on Vox host Astead Herndon's show.
• 🚪 Harris again made it clear she's keeping the door open to a third presidential campaign — against the wishes of many D.C. Democrats. She traveled to Michigan, Georgia and the Carolinas, and said Trump "got pulled into" the Iran war by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. She met with New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez in Chicago this morning, and with JP Morgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon last week in New York City.
• 📖 Newsom used his PAC to boost his book sales by offering supporters a copy in return for any donation, the New York Times reported. A Newsom spokesperson says the PAC brought in more money from the offer than the books cost.
• Shapiro went on the "Pat McAfee Show" with Ultimate Fighting Championship CEO Dana White to announce that the mixed martial arts company is returning to Philadelphia.
• 🤷🏻‍♀️ Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer was profiled by the Atlantic, which asked the provocative question: Why did she go soft on Trump? Whitmer told the magazine she isn't "gearing up" for a run for the White House — the latest sign she's ambivalent about it.
• Moore fundraised in Boston and Atlantic City, N.J.
• 🇮🇱 Just about every Democratic presidential contender in the Senate — including Booker, Kelly, Michigan Sen. Elissa Slotkin, Connecticut Sen. Chris Murphy, Georgia Sen. Raphael Warnock and Maryland Sen. Chris Van Hollen — voted to block weapons sales to Israel.
• Booker argued that Democrats should resist division, telling those at a Michigan Democratic Women's Caucus luncheon: "You may disagree with her on 10% of her views," he said of voters who didn't back Harris in 2024. "But you let someone get in office who you disagree with on everything."
• Kelly stumped for congressional candidate Paige Cognetti in Pennsylvania.
• Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear, wearing a "Big Gretch" pin, spoke at a Michigan dinner honoring Whitmer in Detroit. He called on Democratic candidates to "talk like a normal human."
• Ocasio-Cortez is the favorite potential 2028er of Democratic voters under 35, according to the Yale Youth Poll. AOC also was asked by the left-wing Drop Site News about her former chief of staff Saikat Chakrabarti's congressional bid — which, as we reported last week, she hasn't endorsed. AOC said she's "trying to think about the role that I am trying to play more broadly."
• Colorado Gov. Jared Polis endorsed Democrat Matt Mahan, a tech-friendly candidate for California governor who's been somewhat critical of the Newsom administration.
• 🍽️ Van Hollen will headline a dinner for Cheshire County Democrats in New Hampshire on June 14.

The Emanuel brothers are a competitive bunch.

• Ezekiel became a famous doctor. Ari is a Hollywood superagent. Rahm was mayor of Chicago and White House chief of staff — and now is a potential 2028 contender for president.

But their most ferocious competition may be staying fit.

• 🛥️ After TMZ published photos of the 61-year-old Ari's impressive abs on a yacht alongside Elon Musk in 2022, Puck reported that his daily routine includes an hourlong ice bath, a 24-hour fast on Mondays, a mostly lectin-free vegan diet and intense workouts at his private gym.
• Ezekiel, 68, published a book this year titled "Eat Your Ice Cream: Six Simple Rules for a Long and Healthy Life."

So we asked Rahm, 66, for his routine. His response:

• 🏊‍♂️ Three one-mile swims per week
• 🏋️‍♀️ Three one-hour weight training sessions per week
• 🧘 Two one-hour yoga sessions a week
• 🚴‍♂️ Two bike/elliptical sessions a week
• 🥩 🥗 Diet: no alcohol or bread, lots of protein with vegetables

What he says: "I can't speak to Ari and Zeke, but [my routine] comes out of when I nearly died when I was 17," Rahm told Axios, referring to when he was hospitalized for a bacterial infection after accidentally cutting off half his right middle finger.

• "The doctors said that if it hadn't been for my physical condition, I would have been a goner."

As for his diet, there are exceptions.

• 🍫 "I'd like to say no desserts," he added, "but if you throw chocolate at me.…"