Democrats are holding their breath as a power player in the party moves to shake up the 2028 race.
Former Chicago mayor Rahm Emanuel, who served as President Barack Obama’s first chief of staff, has been running the playbook of a presidential hopeful without officially running—making media rounds, touring key swing states, and unveiling policy proposals.
In a crowded field of potential candidates, Emanuel, 66, has emerged as a provocateur, seeking to pull the Democratic Party rightward while casting it as “weak and woke” and obsessed with “debates over pronouns, bathroom access and renaming schools.”
Democratic rivals are watching closely, bracing for the impact he could have on the 2028 contest.
“Electorally I don’t think he’ll be a threat, but he has an ability to shape the race in other ways,” one Democratic adviser to another potential 2028 contender told Politico.
“He’s good at getting reporters to cover him and he is shameless in a good way: He’s not afraid of putting himself out there.”
Another Democratic strategist who is likely to be involved in advising a left-leaning candidate told Politico that Emanuel—whose podcast visibility efforts have taken him to The Megyn Kelly Show—will “spice up the race.”
“He’s both provocative, but trying to lay down a marker that he thinks is popular with a broader electorate,” the strategist said.
James Carville, the strategist behind Bill Clinton’s 1992 presidential run, similarly said last month that Emanuel—a former Clinton White House official—would “have an effect on the dialogue” in the race.
Others in the party are unimpressed with the idea of Emanuel running.
When Politico asked Democratic strategist Rebecca Katz, who worked on Zohran Mamdani’s successful mayoral bid, what she thought about an Emanuel campaign, she answered bluntly: “I don’t.”
Even without Emanuel in the mix, potential Democratic presidential contenders already appear to be steering the party toward the center on social issues.
California Governor Gavin Newsom, who has led the pack in many polls, said last year that transgender athletes competing in female sports was “deeply unfair,” for instance.
In a December Yale Youth Poll of 3,426 registered voters, Newsom topped the list with 25 percent support, followed by former Vice President Kamala Harris at 18 percent, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez at 16 percent, and former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg at 14 percent. Emanuel fell into the crowded category of candidates who received less than 5 percent support.
But Emanuel believes he’s the candidate for “change”—and “strength.”
“People that want to see change,” he told Politico. “Change and strength. There’s nobody who walks away and says, ‘You know, Rahm’s kind of weak and woke.’ So we’ll see if there’s an appetite.”
Emanuel, who served as U.S. ambassador to Japan under the Biden administration, told Michigan union leaders last month that he’s “road-testing” a presidential run. Those who know him say he’s serious about running, according to Politico.
“He is out there throwing ideas out and traveling and being provocative and stirring the pot and moving the debate, and I don’t think it’s a prelude to a podcast,” said David Axelrod, the former senior Obama adviser and Emanuel’s longtime friend.
The Daily Beast has reached out to Emanuel for comment.
