Pete Buttigieg, the former transportation secretary, ruled out a run for statewide office in Michigan in 2026 and made it clear that he was keeping his 2028 options open.
Gov. JB Pritzker of Illinois is headed to New Hampshire next month, visiting a traditional battleground in the presidential primary campaign years before any campaign is underway.
And even if Iowa isn’t still Iowa, Gov. Tim Walz of Minnesota found himself on Friday in the state that once kicked off the presidential nominating contest, addressing a group of frustrated and furious Democrats. As the Trump administration marches ahead with an aggressive agenda and Democrats grow angry with their leaders in Congress, some of the party’s most ambitious politicians are quietly, and perhaps almost wistfully, looking ahead.
One thousand, three hundred and thirty-four days ahead, to be exact.
Quiet conversations about the next race for the White House are already underway among Democratic strategists, activists and, yes, a stable of would-be, could-be candidates. None would dare announce any such aspiration aloud. Many have yet to decide, even privately, whether they will take steps toward a bid.
But why let reality get in the way of a good shadow primary? Across the country, political operatives, donors and journalists are scrutinizing and overanalyzing these Democrats’ words, policy positions and travel schedules for any sign of presidential plotting. And these Democrats are sometimes — if not often — leaving breadcrumbs to lure such attention.
“Everything that Trump is doing is just so traumatic and so jarring to your soul,” said Raymond Buckley, the chairman of the New Hampshire Democratic Party. “It’s a good reminder that there’s a day after tomorrow. Thinking about ’28, it allows some people to survive the trauma better.”
Those who are quadrennially on the front lines of the presidential race say the jockeying is starting extraordinarily early. The selection of early nominating states is unlikely to be final until at least midway through 2026, making it hard for any candidate to craft an actual campaign strategy.
Most of the political world is only beginning to prepare for bruising battles in the midterm elections next year, and many rank-and-file Democrats remain focused on what they see as President Trump’s grave threats to the country’s rule of law.
Mr. Buckley said he had already spoken with numerous top Democrats about appearing at party fund-raisers in his early primary state. Those requests, he added, have been met with enthusiasm from local activists, who are eager to focus on politics that do not include Mr. Trump.
The news that Mr. Buttigieg would not run for statewide office in Michigan was met, Mr. Buckley said, with glee by his supporters in New Hampshire.
But Mr. Buttigieg is far from the only prominent Democrat making quiet calculations about the future. The list of possible contenders is vast, encompassing at least eight governors, several senators and other current and former officials.
As former Vice President Kamala Harris decides whether to run for governor of California, she is considering how such a move could affect the possibility of mounting a third presidential campaign, according to several people who have spoken with her.
Her former running mate is also not ruling out a 2028 run. Mr. Walz has tried to put some distance between himself and his former partner on the ticket, beginning a media blitz to argue that Democrats played it too “safe” in 2024.
With no clear standard-bearer, many Democrats anticipate a crowded primary field that could grow as large as — if not larger than — the 2019 lineup of more than two dozen candidates.
Next week, Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York is attending town halls with Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont in three western states: Nevada, Arizona and Colorado. With Mr. Sanders now 83 and appearing to rule out a third presidential bid, there is an open progressive lane for someone like Ms. Ocasio-Cortez, 35, who is not seen as especially likely to run but is often floated as a potential heir to Mr. Sanders.
Much of the party’s attention has turned to what many see as a talented, rising crop of governors. In contrast to 2019, when the Democratic primary race featured a historically diverse group of candidates, many of the prominent possible contenders are white men.
Mr. Pritzker will be in Washington next Tuesday to speak at the Center for American Progress, a top liberal think tank, as the group hosts conversations on a path forward.
Three Democratic governors — Josh Shapiro of Pennsylvania, Gretchen Whitmer of Michigan and Andy Beshear of Kentucky — were also in the Washington area this week, extending their reach beyond their home states by addressing a closed-door retreat of congressional Democrats.
After years of mostly keeping to Kentucky, Mr. Beshear has been bolstering his relationships with the party’s donor class. He was selected as the vice chair of the Democratic Governors Association at the end of 2024 and will serve as chair of the group in 2026 — the year when three dozen races for governor will be on the ballot.
Mr. Beshear is already planning to spend some money on an out-of-state race this spring, helping the liberal candidate in Wisconsin’s Supreme Court fight, according to Eric Hyers, the governor’s political adviser.
Some of the early fault lines on how much to compromise with Mr. Trump and his supporters are already coming into focus.
Gov. Gavin Newsom of California, who has long harbored presidential hopes, has suddenly become a popular podcast host. He has thrust himself back into the national spotlight by trying to break what he perceives as party orthodoxy on controversial issues, like the participation of transgender athletes in women’s sports.
His back-to-back decisions to bring on flamethrowing right-wing leaders, Charlie Kirk and Stephen K. Bannon, drew attention and blowback, including some from Mr. Beshear, who said it was a mistake to give Mr. Bannon “any platform ever, anywhere.”
Even some lesser-known figures are working to burnish their national profiles.
Representative Ro Khanna, Democrat of California, is hosting three town-hall meetings in the districts of California Republicans this weekend.
And some long assumed to be out of politics seem to be clawing their way back in. Rahm Emanuel, the former Chicago mayor and Democratic operative who spent the last few years as ambassador to Japan, captured a splashy headline in Politico this week proclaiming that he was gearing up to run for president.
But like everyone else who may — or may not! — enter the race, Mr. Emanuel kept his words determinedly vague.
“I have no idea what I’m doing,” he insisted. “I’m not done with public service and I’m hoping public service is not done with me.”