Booker, Van Hollen and Khanna join the Democrats’ post-midterm 2028 summit in Denver

By Staff Reporter

WASHINGTON — The first big cattle call of the 2028 Democratic race now has a date, a host city and, as of this week, a lineup that spans the party’s progressive and moderate wings.

Sens. Cory Booker of New Jersey and Chris Van Hollen of Maryland and Rep. Ro Khanna of California have been added to the speakers for the “What’s Next” summit in Denver, set for Nov. 12 to 14, nine days after the midterm elections, CBS News reported Tuesday, citing an updated attendee list. They join an initial lineup, first reported by CNN on Oct. 6, that included former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, former Ambassador to Japan Rahm Emanuel and Sens. Ruben Gallego of Arizona, Chris Murphy of Connecticut, Raphael Warnock of Georgia and Elissa Slotkin of Michigan, along with Govs. Mikie Sherrill of New Jersey and Abigail Spanberger of Virginia.

The host is Majority Democrats, a group launched last year and chaired by Rep. Jake Auchincloss of Massachusetts. Its website lists Reps. Kristen McDonald Rivet of Michigan and Pat Ryan of New York and Kansas City Mayor Quinton Lucas as vice chairs.

Why the additions matter

CBS described Majority Democrats as a group formed “by largely moderate elected officials.” The three new names all identify as progressives, the network noted. Booker ran for president in 2020 and left the race before the first contests; Khanna has called himself a “long-shot presidential candidate”; and Van Hollen has said he is “kicking the tires” on a 2028 run. All three have introduced tax plans that could serve as early platforms, CBS reported.

That turns what began as a gathering of the party’s center into something closer to an early forum for the whole field. “What’s Next is an opportunity for Democrats from every wing of the party to have the open and often difficult conversations we need to win in 2028,” Majority Democrats spokesman Matt Corridoni told CBS. When the event was announced, Auchincloss said in a statement that it was “not a policy conference nor a talk shop on tactics” but a debate over “a vision for the Democratic Party,” adding: “Politicians who believe they have that vision should be on that stage,” according to CNN.

Organizers picked Denver partly because it is one of the cities under consideration to host the 2028 Democratic National Convention. More than 2,000 people are expected, according to a person familiar with the planning cited by CBS. CNN reported that the initial lineup also included the strategists David Axelrod, Quentin Fulks and Morris Katz.

Who is not on the list, so far

Several Democrats who are openly weighing 2028 have not been announced as speakers, including former Vice President Kamala Harris, California Gov. Gavin Newsom, Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear and Arizona Sen. Mark Kelly, all of whom are listed by Ballotpedia as having expressed interest. Neither CBS nor CNN reported that the lineup was final. Slotkin, named in CNN’s initial report, was not among those listed in CBS’s update, which did not say whether her plans had changed.

Many of those absent from the program are on the road this month. Newsom campaigned in New Hampshire over the weekend with Rep. Chris Pappas, the Democratic Senate nominee; Harris is scheduled to rally voters in Nevada on Wednesday; and Khanna was scheduled to campaign in Florida on Tuesday for Senate candidate Angie Nixon, the San Francisco Chronicle reported. Warnock’s own surrogate schedule has run through all three early Democratic primary states, as the Inquisitor reported Tuesday.

Denver is not the only post-election stage. CNN noted that Crooked Media is staging Crooked Con in Washington two days after the election.

On the Republican side, an endorsement question

The Republican field is being shaped by a different force. Vice President JD Vance said in an interview with 2WAY released Monday that if he runs, “I think I would get his endorsement,” referring to President Donald Trump, while also saying he had not discussed a run with the president and that Trump could decide to “let like this race play out,” The Hill reported. The Hill also cited a Focaldata/Financial Times poll in which 38 percent of respondents picked Vance as the likely 2028 nominee over Secretary of State Marco Rubio.

For Democrats, there is no such figure to wait on. That is the premise of the Denver summit and, increasingly, of the money: as the Inquisitor reported Tuesday, several Democratic hopefuls’ PACs are already spending heavily on midterm candidates in states that will matter in 2028.

Photo: The Denver skyline from Speer Boulevard. Xnatedawgx, via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0.