2028 Democratic contenders set to meet at post-midterm conference on party’s future

Potential 2028 Democratic presidential contenders are expected to meet at the party’s post-midterm conference next month, with a focus on how to navigate through the next election and beyond.

The conference, titled “What’s Next,” will be held Nov. 12-14 in Denver. It is not an official Democratic Party event, and instead will be presented by Majority Democrats and sponsored by MD PAC.

“‘What’s Next’ is the defining convening of the post-election season, bringing together the people who will write the party’s next chapter,” the event’s description stated. “… Together, we’ll absorb what happened in 2026 and chart where the party goes next.”

The event page named 33 people who will “write the party’s next chapter” and attend the event. Names included former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, former U.S. Ambassador to Japan Rahm Emanuel, New Jersey Gov. Mikie Sherrill (D), Virginia Gov. Abigail Spanberger (D), Reps. Jake Auchincloss (D-Mass.) and Sarah McBride (D-Del.), Sens. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.), Ruben Gallego (D-Ariz.) and Chris Coons (D-Del.) and Democratic strategists David Axelrod and Lis Smith.

“More will be announced as the program comes together,” the conference website stated.

The conference looks to open up debate between “competing visions of the party’s future, and conversations with leading strategists, opinion leaders and candidates.” It will also allow partner organizations to discuss ideas and allow activists and other staffers to organize “opportunities” for the party.

Majority Democrats used the state where the conference will be located as a testament to the party’s 20-year goal to shift Colorado from red to purple to blue, “not by accident, but by investing in people and institutions, building a coalition and then delivering.”

The Democratic Party, which aims to reclaim one or both chambers of Congress in the November midterm elections, is also looking to retake the White House following former Vice President Kamala Harris’s loss to President Trump in 2024.

Democrats that year faced growing unpopularity between rising costs and inflation, and growing unpopularity over the U.S.’s support for Israel in its war in Gaza. Paul Rivera, the author of the Democratic National Committee’s 2024 election “autopsy,” told Axios in August that the war hurt Harris politically.

The party has seen major gains this year from candidates aligned with the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) winning against longtime Democratic incumbents.