The 2028 presidential race has already begun - here’s what to watch before candidates announce 

The 2028 presidential race may still be more than six months away from its first official campaign announcements, but the competition for the nominations is already underway. 

Marty Cohen, professor of political science at James Madison University and co-author of “The Party Decides: Presidential Nominations Before and After Reform,” can explain what is happening now and why the people to watch may not be the potential candidates themselves. 

As potential candidates begin traveling to early-voting states, cultivating donors, meeting with activists and testing their messages, Cohen says these early interactions can help determine which candidates have the resources, endorsements, personnel and organizational support needed to compete once voting begins. 

The bigger story, however, may be the “kingmakers.” 

Cohen is particularly interested in tracking the political actors who will ultimately decide which potential candidates they are willing to support and when they make those decisions. These influential players can provide money, endorsements, campaign personnel, and other resources that are difficult for candidates to assemble on their own. 

“Candidates who amass elite support generally have a leg up on the rest of the field,” says Cohen.  

Cohen says “elite support” can take several forms, including financial backing, endorsements and personnel hires. Because there is a limited pool of influential donors, activists and party actors that candidates are competing to attract, their early choices can provide important clues about which campaigns are gaining momentum. 

Cohen can discuss: 

• How early we can realistically identify which potential candidates have a viable path to a nomination 
• Why media coverage itself can help determine which candidates become viable 
• What potential candidates are trying to accomplish during visits to Iowa, New Hampshire and other early-voting states 
• Who the 2028 “kingmakers” may be and what their past endorsements can tell us about where they might go next 
• Why endorsements, money, personnel, and elite networks can matter before voters enter the voting booth 
• What reporters should be watching now to distinguish serious presidential contenders from candidates generating temporary attention 

Cohen notes that the 2020 Democratic nomination provides a particularly useful case study. Former President Joe Biden’s campaign accumulated important endorsements after his South Carolina victory, illustrating how elite support and campaign momentum can shift rapidly once the voting begins.  

Cohen has been quoted by regional and national media including NPR and TIME on presidential nominations, endorsements and the role of political parties. 

He is available for interviews about the early stages of the 2028 presidential nomination process and what to watch as the “invisible primary” takes shape. 

To interview Cohen, please contact Chad Saylor, saylorcx@jmu.edu.