Former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg surged past former Vice President Kamala Harris in a new poll of the potential 2028 Democratic presidential primary field released on Friday.
Newsweek reached out to Buttigieg and Harris’ teams for comment via email and press contact form.
Why It Matters
The 2028 presidential primary is still about three years away, but pollsters are already asking voters about which potential candidates they are leaning toward supporting. A new Emerson College poll reveals how Democrats view high-profile candidates like Buttigieg and Harris as they may be considering whether to jump into the race.
Meanwhile, Democrats remain divided about the best direction to move in following losses in the 2024 elections. Some Democrats believe a more progressive candidate like Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez would reenergize the base, but others believe a more moderate Democrat, such as Buttigieg, would help the party win back ground among independents.
What to Know
The Emerson poll found that Buttigieg is candidate most favored by Democrats at this point, though nearly a quarter of respondents said they are undecided about who they would support in 2028.
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Sixteen percent said they would cast their ballot for Buttigieg in the primary, compared to 13 percent who said they plan to support Harris. This is a contrast from Emerson’s November 2024 poll, when 37 percent said they leaned toward Harris and only 4 percent planned to back Buttigieg in the weeks after the election.
California Governor Gavin Newsom, whose polling numbers also increased after his handling of protests in Los Angeles, placed third with 12 percent, while Ocasio-Cortez and Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro each received 7 percent support.
Senator Bernie Sanders, a Vermont independent, was the preferred candidate of 5 percent of voters. New Jersey Senator Cory Booker and Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer each received 3 percent support.
Twenty-three percent of respondents said they were undecided.
The poll surveyed 1,000 registered voters from June 24 to June 25 and had a margin of error of plus or minus 3 percentage points.
No major candidates have made a formal entrance into the 2028 primary so far. Harris has also been floated as a candidate for California governor, and polls suggest she would be a major front-runner in that race if she chooses to run.
A Morning Consult poll released last week showed Harris maintaining a stronger lead, with 34 percent saying they planned to support her. Seven percent said they would vote for Buttigieg, while 11 percent said they leaned toward Newsom.
That poll surveyed 1,000 Democrats and Democratic-leaning independents from June 13 to June 15.
A McLaughlin poll from May showed that 29 percent of Democrats planned to back Harris, 10 percent leaned toward Buttigieg and 9 percent were supporting Ocasio-Cortez. That poll surveyed 1,000 voters from May 21 to May 26, 2025.
What People Are Saying
Harris, speaking about her plans earlier this year while visiting Los Angeles-area sites impacted by wildfires: “My plans are to be in touch with my community, to be in touch with the leaders and figure out what I can do to support them…I am here and would be here regardless of the office I hold, because it is the right thing to do, which is to show up in your community and thank the folks who are on the ground.”
Former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, in May: “Democrats do not have the best brand around here or in a lot of places. There’s a lot of reasons for that. Some fair, and some not fair.”
What Happens Next
Typically, most candidates do not begin announcing presidential runs until after the midterm elections. Harris said during a pre-Oscars party earlier this year she plans to make a decision about whether to run for governor by the end of the summer.