A new survey places Pete Buttigieg first among prospective 2028 Democratic presidential contenders, while Gavin Newsom and Kamala Harris trail three other possible candidates after leading earlier polling.
By yourNEWS Media Newsroom
Former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg has moved to the front of an early survey testing possible candidates for the 2028 Democratic presidential nomination, while California Gov. Gavin Newsom and former Vice President Kamala Harris have fallen well below the positions they held in previous polling.
The Public Sentiment Institute poll gave Buttigieg 24.2% support, placing him more than 10 percentage points ahead of his nearest rival. Georgia Sen. Jon Ossoff finished second with 13.9%, followed by Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York at 10.7%.
Newsom placed fourth with 10%, while Harris received 5.1% and finished fifth among the leading names included in the survey, according to a report on the results.
The findings mark a sharp departure from earlier surveys in which Newsom and Harris frequently occupied the top two positions in the developing Democratic field.
A Center Square Voters’ Voice Poll released in June showed Harris leading with 27% support, nearly twice Newsom’s 14%. Buttigieg stood in third place at 11%, while Ocasio-Cortez received 8%.
The latest poll therefore represents a substantial shift for both California Democrats. Harris declined from 27% in the June survey to 5.1% in the Public Sentiment Institute results, while Newsom slipped behind Buttigieg, Ossoff and Ocasio-Cortez.
The New York Post reported that prediction markets continued to view Newsom more favorably than the new polling did.
“As of Sunday, prediction market Polymarket gave Newsom the highest odds of winning the Democratic nomination at 19%. Ocasio-Cortez and Ossoff stood at 15% and 14% respectively, followed by Harris at 9%.
“Kalshi’s market painted a similar picture, placing Newsom at 18%, Ossoff at 15%, Ocasio-Cortez at 14%, and Harris at 9.5%.”
None of the five leading figures in the Public Sentiment Institute survey has formally announced a campaign for the 2028 nomination.
Ocasio-Cortez recently sought to minimize speculation about her presidential ambitions, arguing that holding the presidency was less important to her than securing lasting policy changes.
“My ambition is to change this country,” Ocasio-Cortez said during a discussion with former Obama administration adviser David Axelrod.
“Presidents come and go. Senate, House seats, elected officials come and go. But single-payer healthcare is forever.
“A living wage is forever, workers’ rights are forever, women’s rights, all of that, and so anyways…to a finer point to your question is that when you aren’t attached, when you haven’t been like fantasizing about being this or that since the time you were 7 years old, it is tremendously liberating.”
The contrasting results between the June survey and the latest poll illustrate how unsettled the prospective Democratic field remains more than two years before the 2028 election. Buttigieg’s first-place showing places him at the center of the early contest, while Ossoff and Ocasio-Cortez have moved ahead of two candidates who previously appeared to dominate Democratic speculation.
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