The calendar may say 2026, but for presidential contenders, the race for 2028 is already showing signs of life. Key Democrats are ramping up their activities in Texas, hoping to build up connections and goodwill in a state that is historically crucial for locking down the party’s nomination.
While our great Tex-Mex and barbecue often draw visitors from around the nation, these visits are about building relationships that could help them run for the White House in 2028. Texas traditionally votes on Super Tuesday (just 23 months away!) and has played the role of nomination sealer.
“Well, the food is great, I wouldn’t discount that,” said Larry Sabato, of the Center for Politics at the University of Virginia. “But, Texas, even though it’s a Republican state, it still has a load of delegates at the Democratic National Convention and loads of donors that any serious candidate needs to tap into.”
With the potential of 10 or more candidates running in 2028 on the Democratic side, Sabato said what Texas is starting to see are the early birds trying to build up a network that takes time to cultivate in a state as big as Texas.
The last time Democrats had a wide open presidential primary battle was in 2020 when Joe Biden and U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders were neck-and-neck going into Super Tuesday. Biden won 10 of the 14 states that day, including his biggest delegate haul in Texas. A month later, Sanders dropped out of the race.
Other potential Democratic contenders for the nomination in 2028 have been working Texas audiences over the last couple of years. Former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear, U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., and Sen. Mark Kelly, D-Ariz., have campaigned in the state, given speeches or attended fundraisers in Texas over the last two years.