New polling has revealed that Democrats are most excited to support former Vice President Kamala Harris and Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY), contrary to other recent polls that put Senator Jon Ossoff (D-GA) ahead.
Enthusiasm for Harris and AOC.
According to a poll of 1,701 U.S. adults conducted by SSRS in October, 27 percent of Democrats are “excited to support” Harris. Similarly, 27 percent of Democrats are “excited to support” Ocasio-Cortez (AOC) in 2028. An additional 51 percent of Democrats “would consider supporting” Harris for President in 2028, while 33 percent “would consider supporting” AOC.
Former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg also secured considerable backing. The poll showed that 26 percent of Democrats were “excited to support” the former Transportation Secretary, while 25 percent “would consider supporting” him in a 2028 bid for President. Governor of California Gavin Newsom also polled fairly well, with 22 percent “excited to support” him and an additional 39 percent saying they “would consider supporting” him.
Unsure About Ossoff.
The same poll showed that only 16 percent of Democrats were “excited to support” Ossoff. An additional 23 percent said they “would consider supporting” the Georgia Senator. Democrats polled were generally indifferent to Ossoff, with 55 percent saying they “don’t know enough” about him.
By comparison, while 39 percent of Democrats had a supportive view of Ossoff, a combined 45 percent of Democrats had a supportive view of Senator Cory Booker (D-NJ), 38 percent had a supportive view of Governor of Pennsylvania Josh Shapiro, and 45 percent had a supportive view of Senator Mark Kelly (D-AZ), none of whom are generally considered frontrunners for the 2028 Democrat nomination by pollsters and the betting markets.
Mixed Signals.
This coincides with a Reuters/Ipsos poll of 1,705 U.S. adults published on Monday, which placed Ossoff as a clear frontrunner for the Democrat nomination.
Specifically, 29 percent of Democrats suggested that Ossoff would make an “excellent” presidential candidate, and a further 20 percent said he would make a “good” candidate. Buttigieg polled similarly, with 29 percent of Democrats calling him “excellent” and 27 percent describing him as “good.”
The poll also showed that 23 percent of Democrats regard Harris as an “excellent” candidate and an extra 30 percent regard her as a “good” candidate, despite her loss to President Donald J. Trump in 2024. Newsom polled the exact same as the former Vice President, while AOC polled lower, with 15 percent of Democrats calling her “excellent” and 33 percent viewing her as “good.”
Out of the five frontrunners in this poll, Ossoff had the highest share of respondents selecting “Haven’t heard of them/skipped,” suggesting that much of his popularity boils down to his relative obscurity compared to other potential candidates.
