Democrats are turning to governors to block Trump and be the party’s faces ahead of 2028

With major deportation push on the horizon, state leaders prepare to lead a second resistance against a Trump White House

With their party hollowed out on the national stage, the eyes of many Democrats are now turning to state leaders as they search for a new bench of candidates for 2028 as well as signs of life for the resistance to the GOP White House.

After Kamala Harris was virtually swept in across the battleground states by Donald Trump and Democrats in the Senate suffered key losses, the party’s leadership in Washington is as unpopular as ever. Members of Congress who were previously playing nice with the administration are now coming forward to say they wished they’d spoken out sooner about the need for Joe Biden to step aside.

The chair of the party, Jaime Harrison, is reportedly not seeking another term.

Now, Democrats are turning to governors as it becomes clear that Democratic minorities in both chambers will be able to do little to block the agenda of Donald Trump’s second term without support from some of their Republican colleagues. Some of those same governors are seen as the party’s likeliest prospects for the next presidential election cycle as many in Washington are now tainted somewhat by the stink of the Harris campaign’s defeat.

One of those Democrats is Andy Beshear of Kentucky, who won reelection in Kentucky last year at a time when his party was facing a serious branding issue nationally, especially among voters in rural areas and across the industrial Midwest. An op-ed in the Kentucky Lantern described the governor as “firmly in the hunt to succeed” Trump as president in 2028 following Harris’s loss.

Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear at his reelection victory party in 2023. He is one of the governors helping to lead Democrats' efforts to slow the Trump agenda and look to 2028 (Getty Images)

In a post-election interview, Beshear said that he planned to lobby the administration to keep the Biden administration’s grants and tax credits for electric vehicle manufacturing flowing. It’s a priority he’ll likely share with Elon Musk, the CEO of Tesla and the newest member of the incoming president’s inner circle, but one that puts him at odds with fossil fuel interests and conservatives (including, at times, Trump himself) who have derided the policy as an “EV mandate” killing American jobs.

"I will work with any administration when it benefits Kentucky. I will oppose any administration when it hurts Kentucky or threatens our democracy,” Beshear said.

He hasn’t said yet how his state will react to one of the cornerstone policies planned for a second Trump term: a supposed mass deportation program that will aim to boot more than 1 million undocumented immigrants before the end of his presidency.

Beshear has repeatedly criticized the president-elect for his demeaning and dehumanizing language about immigrants from Central and South America, and elsewhere, while maintaining his support for border control policies.

Other Democrat governors are already pledging to resist the deportation effort.

Massachusetts Governor Maura Healey said last month that state police would not assist Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents in conducting deportation operations within the state, while other governors including JB Pritzker of Illinois, Jared Polis of Colorado and Michelle Lujan Grisham of New Mexico, to name a few, have offered similar statements.

Illinois Governor JB Pritzker has won allies for his willingness to champion progressive policies and make the case against Republicans (REUTERS)

Pritzker, another figure widely viewed as a potential candidate for the Democratic nomination in 2028, even dared Trump’s incoming administration to attempt deportation raids in his state.

A favorite of many younger Democrats and even some progressives, Pritzker’s challenge is a sign that many of the party’s newer generations are seeking a different kind of champion after four years of Biden’s whispery sort-of jabs at his onetime opponent.

"If you come for my people, you come through me,” warned Pritzker.

Another Democrat widely seen to be preemptively building a national profile ahead of a possible bid for higher office is Gavin Newsom of California. Newsom was also seen as a potential contender in the hours after Joe Biden dropped out, before it became clear that the Democrats would not endure an accelerated battle for the nomination.

California Governor Gavin Newsom’s deep pockets, Hollywood ties and connections in the party put him at the top of the list for many listing potential replacements for Joe Biden in 2024. (Copyright 2024 The Associated Press. All rights reserved)

Last month, the California governor called a special session of the state legislature in order to “Trump-proof” his state’s laws and statutes before the president-elect takes office in January.

Part of that effort also includes searching for more funding for state programs likely to be targeted by the Trump White House, such as drug addiction treatment, homelessness outreach and LGBTQ+ support organizations.

Newsom has hit Washington directly to lobby for federal funding on those points, while his team is also seeking alternative funding avenues.

“This is the first of several actions by the Newsom administration, in partnership with the Legislature, as the governor begins shoring up California’s defenses against an incoming federal administration that has threatened the state on multiple fronts,” his office said in a statement, adding: “The freedoms we hold dear in California are under attack — and we won’t sit idle.”