New York — The Democratic Party’s most ambitious politicians are courting African-American activists in New York this week, as the party’s informal 2028 presidential nominating contest takes shape at an annual convention led by Rev. Al Sharpton.
First he was governor of Pennsylvania. Josh Shapirowho warned that “everyone is less safe” due to President Donald Trump’s leadership and blamed him for a nationwide surge in anti-Semitism, Islamophobia, racism and intolerance.
“There is more chaos, there is more cruelty in our world,” Shapiro said. “Even if we disagree on health care policy or tax policy or anything else, we should at least, basically, have an honorable president of the United States. But we don’t have that now.”
The Democratic governor, who is already considered a top-tier 2028 presidential candidate A clear path to re-election In his battleground state this year, he delivered a sharp criticism of the Republican president on the opening day of the four-day National Action Network conference. Speaking here are more than six potential candidates making inroads among Black leaders, one of the Democrats’ most powerful voting blocs.
The presidential primary season won’t begin in earnest until after the midterm elections in November, but this week’s convention showcases a group of Democrats already jockeying for office in what promises to be a crowded primary battle.
For now, at least, there is no clear candidate and early favorite.
“Everyone is talking about who might run for president,” said Sharpton, founder and president of the National Action Network. “First I want to know what their vision is now, what they are doing now. So I invited all the people who can to run.”
In addition to Shapiro, the speaking lineup includes Maryland Gov. Wes Moore, Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker, former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear, Rep. Ro Khanna of California, and Arizona Sens. Mark Kelly and Ruben Gallego.
Former Vice President Kamala Harris, the last Democratic presidential nominee, is also scheduled to speak. California Gov. Gavin Newsom, another potential contender, will not attend due to a previously scheduled family commitment, his team said, noting that he had met with Sharpton earlier in the year.
One doesn’t have to look far to see the enormous influence black voters exert in Democratic nominating contests.
In 2020, Buttigieg was a top vote-getter in the Iowa caucus, and finished a strong second in New Hampshire — both overwhelmingly white states — before Joe Biden took control of South Carolina on the strength of the Black vote.
Biden’s long-standing relationship with the African-American community, bolstered by his electability advantage, ultimately helped him overcome a strong push from favored progressive Sen. Bernie Sanders.
All of the 2028 candidates are quick to criticize Trump, though there is broad agreement that Democrats also need to highlight what they stand for — rather than focusing only on what they oppose.
The White House did not respond to a request for comment on the conference.
Khanna, a Sanders ally who addressed activists on Wednesday, told The Associated Press that progressive candidates in 2028 could make greater inroads with black voters “by speaking to the civil rights tradition and offering a vision rooted in black history.”
“The candidate to host the 2028 election needs to articulate and act on a new moral vision for America,” Khanna said. He added that any presidential candidate’s platform “must be equally inspired by the greats of Douglass and King” — a reference to abolitionist Frederick Douglass and civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. — while “offering a new vision of racial justice, economic justice, and peace in the world, against militarism, against racism, and against wealth inequality.”
Shapiro, a finalist in Harris’s search for a running mate in 2024, highlighted his electability and commitment to African American priorities while on stage.
He called Pennsylvania “the ultimate swing state,” while defending diversity, equity and inclusion programs and insisting that police should be “held accountable” if they make a mistake.
He also repeatedly attacked Trump, suggesting that the impending midterm elections should be “a national referendum on Donald Trump and on what’s happening in Washington, D.C.”
Ashley Sharpton, Pastor Sharpton’s youngest daughter, said she was surprised by the audience’s enthusiasm and participation while Shapiro and Khanna were on stage on the first day of the conference. She said she looks forward to hearing from Moore, Harris and Buttigieg.
“That’s why people come,” she said. “They want to get some of that energy, that consistency, that base.”
