Vice President JD Vance talked about possible Democratic rivals for the 2028 presidential race. He said the “dumbest candidate” between former Vice President Kamala Harris and California Governor Gavin Newsom would likely win the Democratic nomination.
Vance made these comments during an interview on Fox News’ Jesse Watters Primetime. He criticized the Democratic Party for what he sees as major problems in choosing their leaders. “I mean, look, the Democrats have a couple of big issues,” Vance said, according to the NY Post.
Vance said Democrats are too focused on “wokeism” to see that Harris is not qualified to be president. “One is that they lean so far into wokeism that they can’t see the obviousness of the fact, which is that Kamala Harris is not qualified to be president of the United States. That’s why she got the vice presidential nomination [in 2020]. That’s why she got the presidential nomination [in 2024]. This is who Kamala Harris is,” he continued.
The Democratic front-runners face harsh criticism from the vice president
Vance also attacked Newsom, calling him a “corrupt and incompetent governor.” Now, the flip side is, I think you have an unbelievably corrupt and incompetent governor in Gavin Newsom,” Vance went on. “The fact that those are the two front-runners just suggest how deeply deranged the Democrat Party is. Let them fight it out, we’ll figure it out.”
According to polls from RealClearPolitics, Newsom and Harris are the top two Democratic contenders for 2028. Newsom has 23.6% support while Harris has 21.4% support in nationwide primary polls. The vice president has been making headlines recently, including joking about paying for unflattering photos of his White House colleagues.
The New York Times reported last month that Harris and Newsom have a tense relationship. The two politicians from the Bay Area have been feuding, including an incident where Newsom didn’t return Harris’ call when President Joe Biden ended his reelection campaign.
Both Harris and Newsom started their political careers on the same day, January 8, 2004. Newsom became San Francisco’s mayor while Harris became the city’s district attorney. Beyond politics, Vance recently shared his thoughts on banning certain numbers after a parenting moment at church.
On the Republican side, Vance is the clear favorite for 2028. Polls show he leads his closest rival, Donald Trump Jr., by 37.8 percentage points. The 41-year-old vice president has said he will focus on the 2026 midterm elections first, then discuss 2028 plans with President Trump after the November vote.
Published: Jan 8, 2026 05:55 pm