For rising Democrats, the quiet race to lead the party began months ago

In Texas, Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer paid homage to Beyoncé, a Houston native, and told a room full of Democratic activists about the party’s successes in her state.

In Georgia, Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro spoke at a storied Atlanta church where the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. once preached, introducing himself as a fellow person of faith.

And as early voting began in Nevada, Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker was in the state, rallying with union members and attending a block party in support of abortion rights.

Democrats didn’t have a competitive presidential primary race this year, the kind of contest that could have propelled state leaders to national stardom and forced a robust discussion about the direction of the party.

But as up-and-coming Democrats blanketed the country – campaigning for the presidential ticket, promoting down-ballot candidates, working the national fundraising and cable news circuits – many of them also managed to quietly develop bigger platforms, broader networks and a batch of new admirers across some of the country’s most politically important states.

Such advantages will help determine who has outsize influence in the debate over the beleaguered party’s future – and who generates the most buzz in the earliest stages of the next presidential race.

“Bill Clinton, Joe Biden, so many candidates had been coming into New Hampshire for years before they actually ran,” said Raymond Buckley, the chair of the New Hampshire Democratic Party whose state hosted many ambitious Democratic surrogates this cycle. “It gives them an opportunity to size us up, and we get to size them up.”

The 2028 presidential election is many political lifetimes away, and it is impossible to predict how a second Donald Trump term will shape it or what the Democratic field will look like. Vice President Kamala Harris and Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz have not said what they will do next, and many of this year’s other in-demand Democrats insist that, for now, they are focused on governing.

But Donna Brazile, a former interim chair of the Democratic National Committee, said she expected that a “new generation” would “try to wrestle control of this party and its future.”

Here’s a snapshot of the notable places that rising Democrats visited this year, the relationships they forged and the impressions they made.

Making nice in New Hampshire and North Carolina

For politicians hoping to help their party while building relationships for the future, trips to New Hampshire and North Carolina presented efficient options.

Those competitive states held marquee contests for governor this fall, and are traditionally important in the party’s presidential primary race. (President Biden demoted New Hampshire, but the calendar will be up for debate again.)

Many governors in particular descended on both states to help their would-be fellow chief executives.

Some of the visiting governors, including Pritzker and Shapiro, have aides or allies with deep ties to New Hampshire. Several Democrats who ran for president in 2020 also have networks there, including Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, New Jersey Sen. Cory Booker and Minnesota Sen. Amy Klobuchar, Buckley noted.

The Democratic candidate for governor in New Hampshire lost. But in North Carolina, Josh Stein, the state attorney general, defeated a far-right Republican in the governor’s race even as Harris fell short.

Rep. Kathy Manning, D-N.C., said Shapiro was her “first choice” to join a fundraiser with Stein. He was engaging and relatable, she said, and energetically worked the room.

But she stressed that many promising leaders had traipsed through the state – not to mention the departing governor, Roy Cooper.

He had been seen as a top vice presidential contender before taking himself out of the running, and North Carolina Democrats say he was a powerful surrogate for his party.

Others making the rounds included Maryland Gov. Wes Moore and Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear.

The most in-demand Democrats in the battleground states included Moore, Whitmer, Shapiro and California Gov. Gavin Newsom, according to a Democrat with direct knowledge of the travel that elected officials did for the Harris campaign, who insisted on anonymity to preserve relationships with them.

Red-state favorites and Republican outreach

When the Texas Democratic Party held its convention this year, officials invited several Democrats with national name recognition, said Gilberto Hinojosa, chair of the state party. As he recalled, only Whitmer responded enthusiastically.

Hinojosa said that she delivered a well-received address, and he noted that Beshear also spoke at a separate party fundraiser in the red state.

“They were not at all aloof, nor did they reveal any sort of elitism that we are hearing turns our base off,” he added. “Everyone in the rooms could see them seeking higher office sooner than later.”

They were among several Democratic leaders who campaigned in conservative territory as well as in battleground states. In an interview, Beshear signaled that he planned to continue those efforts.

“My hope is to be a reasonable voice that continuously pushes Democrats to focus on the core issues that Americans care about the most, and not to get caught up in the outrage of the day,” said Beshear, emphasizing his credentials as a Democrat from a deeply red state.

Asked about whether that hope could eventually take the shape of a presidential bid, he did little to downplay the idea.

“We’ll figure out the future in the future,” he said.

Pritzker, a billionaire and longtime party donor who led efforts to bring this year’s Democratic National Convention to Chicago, also traveled to Republican-leaning states, including Ohio, where he spoke at a major party event.

His national nonprofit group, Think Big America, was involved in state efforts across the country to protect abortion rights financially and strategically.

It’s an approach that could pay dividends – in relationships, goodwill and political infrastructure – down the road.

“We did have a lot of support from other folks coming into the state, but really, in my mind, Pritzker’s commitment stood out,” said Lindsey Harmon, president of Nevadans for Reproductive Freedom.

That coalition spearheaded a winning ballot measure to enshrine abortion rights in the state’s constitution, one supported – in time and money – by Pritzker and his nonprofit group. “I would love it if he ran for president,” Harmon said.

Buttigieg was described as a versatile player: a major fundraiser, a draw on the campaign trail and a stand-in for Sen. JD Vance, R-Ohio, in Walz’s debate prep.

But perhaps his greatest skill, some Democrats said, was his ability to communicate effectively on Fox News.

Newsom, a spin-room surrogate for Biden and later Harris, was also a significant fundraiser and active battleground-state campaigner who embraced Fox News appearances.

Newsom has launched his own podcast, “Politickin’,” where he recently sounded both delighted and confused as he addressed his status as a social media meme.

“What does ‘zaddy’ mean?” he asked.

Home-state advantages

No Democratic surrogate was powerful enough to pull Harris over the finish line in the battleground states: She lost every one of them. But that hasn’t stopped Democrats from talking up leaders in those states as potentially strong candidates in the future – in part because of where they hail from.

Shapiro and Whitmer, who lead two states that Democrats almost certainly must win to secure the presidency, have been at the center of that battleground-state chatter.

Both supported Harris in their states and across the country, as well as other candidates down the ballot.

Shapiro endorsed 26 down-ballot state candidates in Pennsylvania and appeared in television advertisements with some of them, his team said. In the closing days, he appeared in an ad for Harris in Pennsylvania.

Democrats ultimately maintained control of the Pennsylvania House, an important development for Shapiro’s governing agenda and, in turn, his future reputation.

Whitmer’s Fight Like Hell PAC endorsed candidates nationwide. In Michigan, the political action committee has led or supported more than 160 voter-engagement-focused events since January, an aide said. Whitmer also led a 40-stop bus tour across Wisconsin, Michigan and Pennsylvania, campaigning alongside other governors including Shapiro and Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers.

Buttigieg, an Indiana native, also became a Michigan resident relatively recently.

In Arizona, Phoenix Mayor Kate Gallego said Buttigieg was one of several out-of-staters who drew interest. And Whitmer, Gallego said, had real fans in Arizona “who feel personally connected to her.”

But Gallego also played up a home-state senator: “Arizona is Mark Kelly country,” she said, predicting that he would “be hard to beat in Arizona” if he ran for president.

But first, the midterms

Before the 2028 campaign arrives, Democrats face a more pressing electoral concern: 2026.

Democrats including Shapiro, Moore and Booker will be up for re-election, while others, such as Walz and Pritzker, could seek a third term. (Newsom and Whitmer are term-limited.)

Pritzker is likely to seek re-election and is maintaining a political apparatus, according to an Illinois Democrat with knowledge of his political operation who insisted on anonymity to discuss private conversations.

Others may enter the 2026 fray. Harris could run for governor of California, and Buttigieg could do the same in Michigan.

How Democratic candidates fare – Who has a runaway victory? Who underperforms? Why? – will set the mood music heading into the next presidential election.

Some Democrats suggested that they were anticipating a backlash to Republicans by then.

“I am looking forward to the midterms,” Manning said. In the Trump era, she predicted, “we’re going to see some chaos.”

This article originally appeared in The New York Times.