2028 auditions for Democratic presidential nomination kick off as blue-state governor visits key early state

It's 2025, but it's starting to feel a little bit like 2028 in New Hampshire, the state that traditionally holds the first presidential primary in the race for the White House.

That's because Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker, the billionaire two-term Democrat from the solidly blue Midwestern state, is coming to New Hampshire this weekend to headline the state party's largest annual fundraising gala.

Pritzker, who has become one of his party’s most vocal critics of the sweeping and controversial moves by President Donald Trump during the first three months of his second tour in the White House, is seen as a potential contender for the Democrats' 2028 presidential nomination. 

And trips to New Hampshire — which for over a century has held the first primary in the race for the White House — are seen as an early indicator of a politician’s interest in running for the presidency in the next election.

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"We’ve got to be ready for the fight," Pritzker said when asked by Fox News Digital what his message will be when he delivers the keynote address at the New Hampshire Democratic Party's annual McIntyre-Shaheen 100 Club dinner.

The governor, a member of the Pritzker family that owns the Hyatt hotel chain and who has started several of his own venture capital and investment startups, argued that the nation is "in a constitutional crisis" and that "we have too many people who are ill affected by the policies of the Trump administration."

"This is the moment for people to stand up and fight," he added.

Pritzker, 60, is the first potential Democratic presidential hopeful to visit New Hampshire, or any other early primary state, since Democrats lost the White House and their Senate majority and failed to retake the House in November.

And Trump and Republicans down-ballot made gains with key parts of the Democrats’ base, including with Black, Hispanic and younger voters.

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In the wake of those setbacks, Democrats have experienced increased intra-party tensions with an angry and energized base itching to fight back against Trump. That anger is directed not only at Trump and Republicans, but also at Democrats, with many in the party's base upset that leaders haven't been effective or vocal enough in pushing back against the president. 

It’s also led to reflection about what the Democratic Party stands for and its direction moving forward amid flagging favorable ratings in national polling.

Two-term California Gov. Gavin Newsom, another high-profile Democrat who likely also has national ambitions in 2028, said earlier this week in an interview with "The Hill" that he wasn’t sure what the party truly represents.

"I don’t know what the party is," Newsom said. "I’m still struggling with that."

Asked if he's also struggling, Pritzker responded, "I've been clear my whole life. The Democratic Party stands up for working people. Stands up for working families. We're the party of civil rights. We're the party of human rights. No doubt about that, in my mind."

Pritzker, who is not prevented by term limits from running for re-election in 2026, has yet to say if he’ll make a bid for a third term steering Illinois. But the clock is ticking, with the filing period opening up later this year and the state’s primary just 11 months away.

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"Given the circumstances of getting on the ballot for people, I would need to make a decision and announce it by, you know, by latest July," Pritzker said when asked about his timetable for making a decision.

But it’s a possible presidential run by Pritzker that is grabbing headlines.

Chicagoan Bill Daley, who served as former President Bill 颁濒颈苍迟辞苍’蝉 commerce secretary and former President Barack Obama’s chief of staff, told The Wall Street Journal last week that "there is no doubt that he [Pritzker] is going to run."

Pritzker, asked about Daley's prediction, said, "I’d guess I'd remind you that he didn't support me when I ran for governor the first time… I don't know where he gets his information."

And on the possibility of launching a national campaign in the 2028 election cycle, Pritzker said, "All I can tell you is, I'm focused on the question of whether I will run for re-election as governor, and on defeating the policies of Donald Trump."

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The governor is no stranger to New Hampshire. He headlined the 2022 New Hampshire Democratic Party convention, and he returned last September to campaign on behalf of then-Vice President Kamala Harris, who replaced then-President Joe Biden as the party's presidential nominee in July. Pritzker made multiple stops, including addressing union members at the New Hampshire AFL-CIO’s annual Labor Day breakfast.

Pritzker was among those vetted by the Harris presidential campaign as a possible running mate.

The governor, who led a successful effort to host the 2024 Democratic National Convention in Chicago, was also among the potential 2028 White House contenders to speak during the convention week at the New Hampshire Democratic Party delegation's daily breakfasts.

Veteran New Hampshire-based Democratic consultant Jim Demers noted that "for many New Hampshire Democrats, his [Pritzker’s] visit is an early audition for 2028."

"It comes at a time when voters are really looking for leadership, someone who will challenge what Donald Trump is doing. So, what he says will be weighed very heavily," he added.

Demers, pointing to Pritzker’s handful of trips to the Granite State over the past couple of years, said that "every time he has visited with New Hampshire voters, he has delivered a message that has resonated very well."

Neil Levesque, the longtime director of the New Hampshire Institute of Politics at Saint Anselm College, said that "Pritzker is coming into a highly political state at an opportune time because of how fired up and charged up Democrats are in opposition to President Trump."

And he noted that the stop "will kick off the first of multiple visits by multiple potential candidates, considering that Democrats are hungry for an opposition."

While Pritzker’s visit is the first as the very early moves in the 2028 White House race get underway, behind the scenes there’s already action.

A Granite State-based Democratic strategist who asked to remain anonymous to speak more freely shared that activists in New Hampshire are receiving fundraising emails on a regular basis from some of the potential candidates for 2028. 

"Every week I receive a dozen," the strategist said, adding that the messages are signed by Pritzker, Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro, Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear, Sen. Cory Booker of New Jersey, Rep. Ro Khanna of California and other potential 2028 contenders.

The strategist said the possible White House hopefuls are "driving messaging and their names through this constant barrage of emails."

While the stop by Pritzker may seem very early, it's actually occurring later in the calendar than the first stop in an early-voting state in the 2024 presidential election cycle.

Mike Pompeo, the former congressman from Kansas who later served as CIA director and then Secretary of State in Trump's first administration, spoke in Iowa in late March 2021.

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Pompeo, who took a hard look at running for the 2024 GOP presidential nomination before deciding against launching a campaign, was the first of the potential Republican White House hopefuls that cycle to visit one of the early-voting primary and caucus states.