Republican Strategist Says This Would Be GOP’s ‘Biggest Nightmare’ In 2028

GOP strategist Brad Todd said Sunday on CNN’s “State of the Union” that his biggest fear about Democrats in the 2028 elections would be if they found another “Bill Clinton era Democrat.”

Former Vice President Kamala Harris announced Wednesday that she would not be joining California’s 2026 race for governor, and instead left room for many in her party to speculate if she would be returning for the 2028 presidential race. Discussing the type of candidate Democrats would need in order to gain back voters that Republicans won over in 2024, guest host Kasie Hunt asked Todd what his “biggest nightmare in terms of a Democratic nominee” would be.

“Well, I mean, first of all, I’d love to have Kamala Harris back,” Todd said. “And I think that if she gets through these stages of denial or stages of grief that she’s in and thinking the system’s the problem instead of her and her ideology, maybe we can get her back.”

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“I think, first off, a Democrat I would fear is a Democrat that reconciled where they are on immigration and cultural issues. They’ve gone too far,” Todd added. “A Bill Clinton approach to culture, Bill Clinton era Democrat approach to culture, married up with some more populist things on economics. That’d be pretty hard to beat.”

Since President Donald Trump won the November election, Democrats have struggled to find a singular message and leader to get behind. With infighting over where the party should end up and the policies Democrats want to push, the party has appeared to struggle in regaining their connection with voters.

New polls from The Wall Street Journal, CNN and Gallup have all reported that the party has hit record-low favorability. According to the WSJ’s poll released on July 25, the survey found that 63% of voters have an “unfavorable view” of Democrats, with only 33% holding a favorable view of the party.

During a breakdown of CNN’s new data on Friday, CNN chief data analyst Harry Enten said that not only are Democrats “historically divided,” but they also lack a presidential nominee polling at the levels typically seen in past elections.

Enten went on to point out that despite reports indicating Harris could enter the 2028 race, her odds of becoming the party’s nominee again “don’t look too good.”

Citing the Kalshi betting market odds for the future election, Harris had only a 5% chance — falling 15 points below Democrat California Gov. Gavin Newsom, who holds a 20% chance, according to the site. Notably, Democrat New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez holds a 15% chance, with former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg  in third with a 10% chance as of Sunday.