OPINION: This article may contain commentary which reflects the author’s opinion.
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Political strategists remain unconvinced that the Democrats rumored to be potential 2028 presidential candidates possess the necessary qualities to unify the party and reclaim the White House, according to a Saturday analysis.

Failed 2024 candidates Kamala Harris and Tim Walz, along with former Obama White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel, former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, and several Democratic governors—including Gavin Newsom of California, Josh Shapiro of Pennsylvania, Andy Beshear of Kentucky, and Wes Moore of Maryland—are all reportedly evaluating presidential runs for 2028 as Democrats struggle to emerge from a political downturn, the Daily Caller reported. Although the campaign is still in its early stages, pundits told the outlet that these prospective candidates may face significant challenges in rallying the party and appealing to a broad enough segment of the electorate to secure a victory.

“We are in what has been referred to as the ‘invisible primary’ phase of the election cycle, because it is so early and the public isn’t paying attention to these early machinations,” Len Foxwell, a Maryland-based Democratic strategist, told the Caller.

“The only ones who are participating in the process at this point are the prospective candidates themselves and a relatively small and insular ecosystem of donors and party activists and elected officials who do this sort of thing, either as a passion or as a profession. It’s a very small and limited process right now, but it’s definitely happening,” Foxwell added.

Recent polling indicates that Democratic voters are overwhelmingly eager to see Harris resume her role as the party’s standard-bearer, with Buttigieg and Newsom trailing far behind, and other candidates drawing much lower levels of support, according to Newsweek.

While most Democratic politicos tend to avoid highlighting the flaws or challenges facing each candidate, Michigan-based commentator and consultant Adolph Mongo did not hold back.

“A bunch of losers,” Mongo told the Caller regarding several of the Democratic names being mentioned in connection to possible 2028 runs. “I’m looking for someone who’s gonna be more realistic, and who’s going to be able to not only dish it out, but be able to take it. The Democrats, they ran a spineless 2024 campaign, they let Republicans create the narrative, and they never responded to it.”

“Harris made the biggest boo-boo, with the pick from Minnesota, good, nice guy, a good governor. But they needed somebody that’s going to be a bulldog that can attract new voters,” Mongo told the outlet, in reference Walz.

“You know, they just dropped the ball on several issues, one on immigration, two on transgender rights. Three, they took their base for granted, black voters, Hispanic voters, they just did everything wrong. And the biggest boo-boo was they knew that the president, two or three years ago, should have just been a one term guy, and they didn’t do anything and waited too late … they might as well have just left him in,” he noted further.

Beshear, who was reportedly considered alongside Whitmer and others as a potential addition to the 2024 Democratic ticket after former Biden chose to end his reelection campaign and endorse Harris, lashed out at Newsom on Thursday for featuring populist firebrand Steve Bannon on his new program—a remark that quickly made its way into liberal media reports.

Walz, another governor known for his progressive record in his state, appears to be exploring a potential run by embarking on a national town hall tour targeting vulnerable House Republican districts. Notably, his first stop is in Iowa, one of the most critical battleground states in the primary season, the Caller added.

Foxwell said he believes each of the potential contenders has a viable path to victory, noting that some Democrats—Newsom among them—are shifting their positions on issues like protecting women’s sports and moving away from hardline stances to broaden their appeal.

However, he added that the primary field is likely to be “all over the map” given the current state of disarray within the party, the outlet reported.

Foxwell believes Moore could emerge as a key candidate in the party’s “aspirational lane,” reminiscent of Barack Obama’s 2008 run. He argued that Emmanuel is too closely tied to an era of American politics that has since passed.

And though Newsom seems to be setting himself up to be in the best position for 2028, Foxwell personally thinks he would be a bad pick for Dems because the California governor “embodies every worst negative stereotype of the modern Democratic Party” and “represents the privileged and affluent coastal elite who have virtually no connective tissue to working-class men and women in the battleground states who ultimately determine the outcome of presidential elections.”