2028 Democratic Presidential Power Rankings: The Ballad of Jasmine Chokeitt, Part II
Going through the top five of the Democratic presidential field as the liberal base slowly backs away from the abyss.
Early next month, Democratic primary voters in Texas will officially kick off the 2026 midterms by choosing their nominee for what stands to be one of the most important Senate races in recent memory. On one side stands Texas State House Representative James Talarico, a charismatic shape-shifting social media phenom running on a platform of inoffensive liberal populism. On the other side is U.S. House Representative Jasmine Crockett, onetime backbencher turned ultra-partisan superstar who has run an unbelievably narcissistic campaign. With the Lone Star showdown standing out as one of only a few truly competitive and meaningful Democratic primary contests this year, the result will send a massive signal about the state of the Democratic Party going forward. Have liberal voters responded to their loss in 2024 by taking a reasoned outlook, or have they sunk into a form of political nihilism, with little interest other than promoting those who entertain them the most on their screens?
By the end of last year, it seemed as if this question was already answered. When Crockett entered the race in late November, her nomination looked to be a fait accompli. With only three months left in the campaign, it seemed nigh-inevitable that a once-in-a-decade political opportunity would be completely squandered because Facebook-addicted liberals found it really funny when Crockett called Greg Abbot “Governor Hot Wheels.” And it wasn’t hard whatsoever to draw parallels between this and a countless number of concurrent developments across the world of liberalism, whether they be the rise of a hollow Gavin Newsom in primary polling or the popularity of conspiracies about everything from the validity of the 2024 election to the motive of Charlie Kirk’s assassination.
But in the time since then, something unexpected has occured. Rather than meeting Crockett’s announcement with the same enthusiasm they had always had for her, liberals suddenly adopted a critical eye towards her once her campaign began. Fundraising—something Crockett had excelled at over 2025 even when she was only running for an uncompetitive House district—abruptly dried up. Once-friendly commentators suddenly took a far more critical eye. On the trail, the Representative who had been such a strong master over her own social media domain proved to be a halting and ineffective campaigner, unable to address the most pressing questions around her bid. Over time, her numbers dropped, to the point where Talarico took the lead in some polls.
Regardless of the ultimate outcome of the race, Crockett’s struggles illustrate something greatly encouraging: that Democratic voters might not be as utterly braindead as they just so recently seemed to be. Although certain sections of the party—the longtime centrist base in particular—are still ripe for demagoguery, others are starting to show a willingness to think critically and learn from past mistakes. In the first part of this list, I went over how this new reality stands to impact those on the margins of the top tier of contention. In this final section, I’ll go over the cream of the crop: the top five Democratic politicians in the strongest position to be the party’s next nominee for President of the United States. Who has entered the top tier? Who stands at #1? What does it really mean for liberals to sit down and think about winning? All of that and more will be answered here.
#5: State Rep. James Talarico (🔺5)
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