KEENE, N.H. — Minnesota Democratic Senator Amy Klobuchar, a 2020 Democratic presidential candidate, listened to factory executives and local storekeepers talk about the impact of tariffs as she reconnected with a local state senator and mayor potentially ahead of yet another run.
She arrived with little fanfare last Friday, just one reporter in tow, as she accompanied Democratic Congressman Chris Pappas walking around town and attending a fund-raiser for him. At one store, she bent down to try on light pink Birkenstocks, revealing a mess of bandages from hiking earlier in the week back home. She offered it as a sign that she kept her promises to hike all over her home state.
Was she there to gage the interest in another run?
She insisted she was simply supporting Pappas, who is running to replace retiring Senator Jeanne Shaheen.
But her presence there pointed to a larger, albeit quiet truth: the 2028 campaign has essentially begun.
Last Tuesday, California Governor Gavin Newsom launched a two-day swing through rural South Carolina, home to the first official Democratic primary in 2024 and likely to hold an early spot again in 2028. Chatting with locals, Newsom assured them he loves a good sermon and Southern food, “Of course I do.”
Meanwhile, Vice President JD Vance was across the country in San Diego, making the rounds at a Republican National Committee fundraiser. If he runs, he’ll need those donors to fuel a national campaign of his own.
The following day, Arizona Senator Ruben Gallego announced plans to visit Iowa next month, despite the state’s downgraded role in the Democratic calendar. Local officials there have already signaled they want their first-in-the-nation status restored. Former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg held an event in Iowa in May.
That same afternoon Klobuchar was in Keene, it was announced that Illinois Governor JB Pritzker would headline the North Carolina Democratic Party’s annual dinner, another move in a key swing state. He already spoke at a similar event in New Hampshire earlier this year.
Six months into Donald Trump’s second term, he’s enjoying a high point. He just signed a sweeping tax cut into law ahead of his self-imposed July 4 deadline. He’s pressured NATO countries to boost defense spending. And he’s continuing to rack up wins in court, like Monday’s ruling from the Supreme Court that he could continue to slash staff at the Department of Education.
But beneath the surface, a campaign to replace him is already taking shape. The 2028 election could feature the largest field of candidates in American history. That’s why hopefuls are already trekking to early primary states and cozying up to donors, they know that in a crowded race, early attention is critical.
Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear has also begun to make moves toward a more national profile. He’ll travel to South Carolina to speak at an AFL-CIO conference in Greenville, then to a Democratic event along the coast. Asked on NBC’s Meet the Press whether he’s considering a run, Beshear said: “We’ll see… I will not leave a broken country to my kids or to anyone else’s.”
As for the Republicans, Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin will be in Iowa this week and in South Carolina next month to both headline events for local Republican parties. Texas Republican Representative Wesley Hunt, and former US secretary of state Mike Pompeo visited New Hampshire in June. Kentucky Senator Rand Paul was also supposed to appear in the state in late June, but the event was postponed due to Senate votes.
Not wanting to be overshadowed by other states, a group of New Hampshire Democrats announced Monday they’re launching a town hall series featuring potential 2028 contenders. The effort, backed by longtime Democratic figures Jim Demers (an early backer of Barack Obama) and Billy Shaheen (Senator Shaheen’s husband), will kick off next month with Representative Ro Khanna of California in Manchester.
Of course, all of this is unfolding more than a year before the 2026 midterms, which can be a vehicle for potential presidential candidates to curry favor. Democrats haven’t even filled out slates for major gubernatorial or congressional contests across the country.
Still, none of that is slowing the race ahead.
James Pindell is a Globe political reporter who reports and analyzes American politics, especially in New England.
