Democrats are making early moves to line up 2028 presidential bids

The early moves in the next White House race – at least among the Democrats – are getting underway.

Pete Buttigieg on Thursday ruled out a run for an open Democratic-held Senate seat in his adopted home state of Michigan.

And the announcement by the 2020 Democratic presidential candidate, who served four years as Transportation secretary in President Joe Biden's administration, appears to clear the path for a potential 2028 White House bid by Buttigieg.

Buttigieg highlighted that "while my own plans don’t include running for office in 2026, I remain intensely focused on consolidating, communicating, and supporting a vision" that is an alternative to what he called the "cruel chaos" of President Donald Trump's administration.

THESE ARE THE DEMOCRATS WHO MAY RUN FOR THE WHITE HOUSE IN 2028

A source familiar with Buttigieg's thinking told Fox News that the former transportation secretary is in a strong possible position to run for president in 2028 and that running for either senator or Michigan governor "in 2026 would have taken that off the table."

NEWSOM MAKES MAJOR HEADLINES IN INAGURAL EDITION OF HIS NEW PODCAST

Across the country, term-limited California Gov. Gavin Newsom – who has long been suspected of harboring national ambitions – is grabbing tons of attention and millions of YouTube hits thanks to a new and very high-profile podcast series.

The first two guests were MAGA world superstars Charlie Kirk and Steve Bannon.

Democrat J.B. Pritzker – the billionaire two-term governor of blue state Illinois and one of his party's leaders in opposing Trump's second-term agenda – will head to New Hampshire next month to headline the state party's annual fundraising gala, sparking plenty of 2028 speculation.

DEMOCRAT GOVERNOR'S TRIP TO THIS KEY STATE SPARKING 2028 SPECULATION

Trips to New Hampshire – which for over a century has held the first primary in the race for the White House – are seen as an early indicator of a politician's interest in running for the presidency in the next election.

But there's more.

There is plenty of focus on former Vice President Kamala Harris, who replaced Biden as the Democratic Party's 2024 presidential nominee last summer after he dropped out of the race amid mounting questions over his physical and mental stamina.

KAMALA HARRIS REVEALS TIMETABLE FOR MAJOR POLITICAL DECISION

Harris, who lost last November's White House election to Trump, is seriously considering a 2026 bid to succeed Newsom in her home state of California. But a run for governor in 2026 would likely derail her from making a 2028 White House bid.

A source in the former vice president's political orbit confirmed to Fox News Digital that Harris has told allies she will decide by the end of summer on whether to launch a gubernatorial campaign.

And Harris recently made a stop in Nevada, an early-voting state in the Democrats' primary calendar.

Harris' 2024 running mate – Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz – is not ruling out a White House run of his own in 2028. Walz on Friday kicks off a high-profile town hall tour in Iowa, the state that, through the 2020 cycle, kicked off the Democrats' presidential nominating calendar.

Meanwhile, three other prominent Democrats considered potential 2028 contenders – Govs. Gretchen Whitmer of Michigan, Andy Beshear of Kentucky and Josh Shapiro of Pennsylvania – on Thursday are addressing the House Democrats' annual policy retreat.

Even Rahm Emanuel, the former congressman from Illinois, White House chief of staff in President Obama's administration, and Chicago mayor who most recently served as U.S. ambassador to Japan, is potentially mulling a 2028 run. Emanuel this week was the topic of a feature report by Politico.

While 2028 seems like a very long way away, the early moves in the next White House race begin – well, early – for the party out of power.

VANCE IN ‘CATBIRD SEAT,' BUT HERE ARE THE OTHER REPUBLICANS WHO MAY ALSO RUN IN 2028

That was the case for the Republicans in the 2024 cycle.

The first stop in Iowa, which continues to kick off the GOP's presidential nominating schedule, in the 2024 cycle by a potential White House contender came in March 2021 – just weeks after Biden assumed the presidency.

Former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo – who eventually ended up not running for president – grabbed plenty of attention as he spoke to the Westside Conservative Club in suburban Des Moines.

"There's no sense in waiting," New Hampshire-based political strategist Lucas Meyer told Fox News. "If anyone is serious about running for president, they would probably be well served in getting after it now."

Meyer, a former president of the New Hampshire Young Democrats who chairs the advocacy group 603 Forward, called it a "wide open field" for Democrats.

"The crowd of leadership at the top of the Democratic Party isn't very deep at the moment," he observed. "There's oxygen there for someone."