Polls

Newsweek - Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Donald Trump Jr. gained ground among voters considering potential 2028 presidential contenders in a new Harvard CAPS/Harris poll, while the leaders of the hypothetical Democratic and Republican fields saw their support slip.

The shifts offer an early look at a 2028 race that is still taking shape, with none of the potential contenders tested in the poll having formally announced a campaign.

Among Democrats, former Vice President Kamala Harris remains the leading choice at 38 percent, down 4 percentage points from August. California Governor Gavin Newsom followed at 17 percent, while Ocasio-Cortez climbed 3 points to 12 percent.

Ocasio-Cortez has not yet decided whether she will run for president in 2028, saying she plans to weigh the decision after the midterm elections. In an interview with The New York Times published last week, Ocasio-Cortez discussed the challenges of a potential presidential campaign.

“This country has never elected a female president. Why are we pretending that this is not a factor?” Ocasio-Cortez told the Times. “That doesn’t make it impossible, but to act as though it’s not a factor in anything ever is really a form of, like, denialism.”