The Democratic Party has spent the past year engaging in internal discussions that have been widely described as self-focused and anxiety-driven. Following President Trump’s decisive victory in the 2024 election, party insiders pledged a period of deep reflection to address why American voters rejected their message. They claimed this time would bring fresh ideas and new leadership.
However, introspection appears complete with results. The party that promised reinvention has instead chosen to prepare for another presidential campaign in 2028. Kamala Harris, who lost both the popular vote and the Electoral College to President Trump in the 2024 election, is reportedly launching a series of book tour stops ahead of early 2026 primaries.
These tour stops include South Carolina, a critical early primary state, and cities with significant Black voter populations such as Detroit, Jackson, Mississippi, Memphis, Tennessee, and Montgomery, Alabama. Harris recently appeared at the Democratic National Committee’s winter meeting in Los Angeles, where she mingled with party officials and chairs.
Harris has reportedly laid groundwork for her 2028 campaign, a move that contrasts sharply with her previous loss. The American people have already spoken, choosing someone else over her candidacy.
The shift is particularly striking given Harris’s recent rhetoric. During her DNC speech, she declared that “government is viewed as fundamentally unable to meet the needs of its people” and that Americans are “ready to break things to force change.” She even described President Trump as a “symptom” of a larger problem.
This transformation follows her role in the previous administration. The Democratic National Committee’s reception was enthusiastic, with an audience member shouting “You!” when Harris mentioned the future. DNC chair Ken Martin humorously suggested that Harris’s husband, Doug Emhoff, could be the “future first gentleman.”
While other Democrats such as California Governor Gavin Newsom and Illinois Governor JB Pritzker are also preparing for 2028, the party’s real challenge lies in its apparent readiness to recycle candidates and ideas voters rejected last year. Polling data remains mixed, but the Democratic Party’s answer to “what went wrong?” appears to be “nothing, really—let’s just try harder.”
Next week, Harris is scheduled to appear on Jimmy Kimmel’s show, a move critics describe as a retreat to late-night television when political brands struggle.
