The Democratic presidential race’s early messaging took shape this week at a Black-activist convention in New York, where leading contenders used the 2026 midterm election as a backdrop for their 2028 positioning. Speaking at the National Action Network’s annual convention led by Rev. Al Sharpton, the politicians said the Trump administration’s moves could restrict who is able to vote and warned that Democrats face a high-stakes test before the next presidential nomination season begins in earnest.
Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker delivered one of the convention’s central lines, saying Trump is actively trying to undermine voting rights. Pritzker said the administration would send Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Customs and Border Protection agents to “scare people away from the polls,” an assertion Pritzker said came as the administration prepared for the November midterm elections; the administration has denied the plan. Pritzker argued that Democrats need to “go in and vote” and said the outcome of the midterms would determine whether future elections remain possible.
Pritzker also tied his warnings to recent Trump executive actions affecting election administration. He pointed to a Trump order signed less than two weeks earlier that would create a nationwide list of “verified eligible voters” and restrict mail-in voting, a move voting law experts said violates the Constitution by attempting to seize states’ authority to run elections. The order also seeks to bar the U.S. Postal Service from sending absentee ballots to people not on each state’s approved list.
Maryland Gov. Wes Moore described Trump’s actions in similarly blunt terms. Moore said Trump is using tactics to make “the pain permanent,” and he condemned the policies as an effort “to make the pain permanent,” calling them “voter suppression” and “political redlining.” Moore also said the approach reflects longstanding strategies, while arguing that it is now being carried out “all at once and in broad daylight.”
Maryland’s governor added that Democrats must ensure the 2026 election is not “stolen right before our face,” positioning the midterm fight as a prerequisite for future electoral contests. The speakers’ repeated emphasis suggested they view the confrontation over voting rules as already influencing the 2028 presidential competition, even as the party’s next primary contests are still months away.
Rev. Al Sharpton, who leads the National Action Network, said the event is not only about upcoming national politics but about what would-be candidates say their vision is. Sharpton said he wanted to first know “what their vision is now, and what they’re doing now,” and said he invited “all of the people that could run” as several prominent Democrats addressed the convention during the four-day gathering.
In addition to Moore, Pritzker and Shapiro, the speaking schedule at the conference includes former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear, Rep. Ro Khanna of California, and Arizona Sens. Mark Kelly and Ruben Gallego. The lineup also includes Kamala Harris, scheduled to speak Friday, while California Gov. Gavin Newsom would not attend due to a previously scheduled family commitment; Newsom’s team said he met with Sharpton earlier in the year.
Speakers used the convention stage to argue that leadership and public safety are tied to their view of Trump’s impact. Shapiro, the first to speak among the listed figures, framed his critique around morality and said that “everyone is less safe,” blaming Trump for a nationwide surge in antisemitism, Islamophobia, racism and bigotry. Shapiro also said that even if Democrats disagree on “health care policy or tax policy,” the country should have an “honorable president of the United States,” adding “We do not have that right now.”
Khanna told The Associated Press that a 2028 contender needs to articulate and run on a new moral vision for America, and he said progressives should speak to the Civil Rights tradition while offering a vision rooted in Black history. The remarks reinforced how the convention’s messages combined voting-rights warnings with an appeal to the kind of leadership Democrats say they must offer to Black voters.
The speakers’ emphasis on Black voters reflected how central that bloc has been in past nomination contests. The AP reported that in 2020, Buttigieg performed strongly in Iowa and finished second in New Hampshire, both of which are overwhelmingly white, before Biden dominated South Carolina in part on the strength of Black voters. The coverage also pointed to Biden’s established relationship with the African American community and the impact of that perceived electability advantage against progressive Sen. Bernie Sanders.
James Clyburn, who has a prominent role in South Carolina politics, said in an interview he is not concerned about whether South Carolina retains its top spot on the presidential primary calendar, as long as it remains first in the South. He told The Associated Press that the state’s demographic makeup helps prepare candidates for the general election and added that “South Carolina never made a request for that opening slot,” saying “That’s a decision that Joe Biden made for whatever reason.” Clyburn also said it was too early to focus on the early 2028 field given the voting-rights threat he said Trump poses this fall, warning that “2028 is a very shiny object, 2026 is a necessary process,” and saying Democrats must handle the off-year election properly to avoid risking the possibility of a 2028 contest.