VoteTide

2028 Presidential Election › Candidates

Who's running in 2028

The leading contenders for each party's nomination, with their background, record and live odds. Nobody has formally entered the race yet; this list follows who the prediction markets give a real chance.

Republicans

1JD Vance

Vice President of the United States42 · Ohio Veteran · Marine Corps
33%up 3.3down 3.8down 15to win nomination

Vance grew up in Middletown, Ohio, and Jackson, Kentucky, served in the Marines, and became widely known for his 2016 memoir Hillbilly Elegy. He won Ohio's Senate seat in 2022 and was elected vice president as Donald Trump's running mate in 2024.

Served our country. Enlisted in the Marines after high school (2003–2007) and deployed to Iraq as a combat correspondent. Thank you for your service.

  • Elected to the U.S. Senate from Ohio in 2022
  • Elected vice president on the 2024 Republican ticket
  • Cast the tie-breaking Senate vote that passed the 2025 tax and spending law
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3Ron DeSantis

Governor of Florida48 · Florida Veteran · Navy
15%down 2.2up 9.3up 10to win nomination

A Navy veteran and former congressman, DeSantis was elected governor of Florida in 2018 and re-elected in 2022. He ran for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination and withdrew before the New Hampshire primary.

Served our country. Navy JAG officer from 2004, deployed to Iraq in 2007 as a legal adviser to a SEAL team; later served in the Navy Reserve. Thank you for your service.

  • Re-elected governor in 2022 by about 19 points
  • Signed Florida's Parental Rights in Education Act (2022)
  • Ran for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination
Full profile →

4Ted Cruz

U.S. Senator from Texas55 · Texas
2%±0±0–to win nomination

A former Texas solicitor general who argued cases before the Supreme Court, Cruz won his Senate seat in 2012. He finished second to Donald Trump in the 2016 Republican primaries after winning the Iowa caucuses.

  • Won the 2016 Iowa caucuses and finished second for the nomination
  • Spoke for 21 hours on the Senate floor against the Affordable Care Act (2013)
  • Chairman of the Senate Commerce Committee since 2025
Full profile →

8Nikki Haley

Former U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations54 · South Carolina
1%±0±0±0to win nomination

The daughter of Indian immigrants, Haley was South Carolina's first woman governor and later ambassador to the United Nations. She was the last major challenger to Donald Trump in the 2024 Republican primaries.

  • First woman elected governor of South Carolina
  • Signed the 2015 law removing the Confederate flag from the State House grounds
  • Won the 2024 Republican primaries in Washington, D.C. and Vermont
Full profile →

Democrats

1Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez

U.S. Representative from New York37 · New York
14%±0down 1.8down 3.4to win nomination

A former bartender and community organizer, Ocasio-Cortez won her House seat in 2018 by defeating a 10-term incumbent in the Democratic primary. At 29 she was the youngest woman ever elected to Congress at the time.

  • Defeated House Democratic Caucus Chair Joe Crowley in the 2018 primary
  • Co-wrote the Green New Deal resolution (2019)
  • Toured the country with Sen. Bernie Sanders on the 2025 "Fighting Oligarchy" tour
Full profile →

2Gavin Newsom

Governor of California59 · California
13%down 1.4down 4.1down 4.7to win nomination

A former restaurant and winery owner, Newsom was mayor of San Francisco and lieutenant governor before winning the governorship in 2018. California limits governors to two terms, and his second ends in January 2027.

  • Defeated a recall attempt in 2021
  • Signed a $20 minimum wage for fast-food workers (2023)
  • Led the 2025 Proposition 50 ballot measure redrawing California's congressional map
Full profile →

4Pete Buttigieg

Former U.S. Secretary of Transportation44 · Michigan Veteran · Navy Reserve
5%±0±0±0to win nomination

A Navy Reserve veteran and two-term mayor of South Bend, Buttigieg ran for president in 2020 and then served four years as transportation secretary. He now lives in Michigan.

Served our country. Navy Reserve intelligence officer (2009–2017), deployed to Afghanistan in 2014. Thank you for your service.

  • Won the most delegates in the 2020 Iowa caucuses
  • Oversaw transportation spending from the 2021 infrastructure law
  • First openly gay Cabinet secretary confirmed by the Senate
Full profile →

7Wes Moore

Governor of Maryland48 · Maryland Veteran · Army
2%±0±0±0to win nomination

An Army veteran, author and former anti-poverty charity chief, Moore won the Maryland governorship in 2022 in his first run for office.

Served our country. Army paratrooper and captain with the 82nd Airborne Division, deployed to Afghanistan in 2005–2006. Thank you for your service.

  • First Black governor of Maryland
  • Led the state's response to the 2024 Key Bridge collapse
  • Wrote the bestselling memoir The Other Wes Moore (2010)
Full profile →

Profiles are facts as of November 5, 2026. Odds are the Kalshi and Polymarket average, updated every 5 minutes; arrows show the change over the day, week or month you pick (Kalshi reports only the last day, so 7D and 30D use Polymarket). Photos via Wikimedia Commons, used under their free licenses.