The 2028 Democratic Presidential Tier List: Left-Labor Edition

Going over the most requested additions to last week's overview of the 2028 primary.

(Credit for the voiceover for this article goes to the great Samuel Lipson)

If you have read this newsletter for a while, you will know that these presidential tier lists are living documents. When I published my first list of Democratic candidates back in the summer of 2023, I continuously updated it over the following year, usually in response to reader demand for a new inclusion or a new development that changed the nature of a politician’s standing. The introduction of audio voice overs, however, has changed this, making it so that poor Sam would need to re-record entire articles after every new edit in order for our recordings to remain accurate. As it would be quite cruel to put him through something so repetitive, I have decided that each new addition or update to the lists will come in the form of their own articles, starting with this one. Here, I will go through each of the most requested additions to the list from last week, with special attention being given to left-wing outsiders who haven’t received much attention in the mainstream media. Along with some notable centrist figures that weren’t included last week, there are two labor leaders and two new members of The Squad. Of these four, two of them have earned the list’s first-ever S Tier rankings. So, without further ado, let’s begin.

UAW President Shawn Fain (I-IN)

First mentioned in this newsletter as possibly the best-case scenario for a Democratic Trump, Shawn Fain has emerged as something of a default 2028 favorite for those on the left who are both dissatisfied with the mainstream liberal candidates on offer and uncertain that the Squad is ready to go national. It’s easy to see why. During a period under Biden where the left felt listless and inert, Fain’s sudden rise and successes stood out as an unexpected realization of our beliefs. That he followed up these wins by positioning his union and its allies as some of the few high-profile allies of pro-Palestine members of Congress felt almost too good to be true. His actions still stand as some of the only moments since 2020 where the central promise of Bernie’s campaign—that his supporters were building a movement that would long outlast him—has felt actually real. So, in this moment defined by anti-system sentiment above all else, who could be a better leader for the left than someone like Fain: a genuine political outsider from the heartland with a career of fighting against literal corporate titans?

In truth, hardly anyone. There’s not that much of a catch with Fain; his background, policies and rhetoric squarely fit with what the moment demands. The only real problem is his lack of political experience, which is still a legitimate issue for outsider politicians even after Trump’s successes. Although Trumpism has opened the door for other movements traditionally considered to be beyond-the-pale, it’s always worth remembering that Trump won his third time around in large part because he had spent four years in the White House before and looked like a credible leader because of it. When his allies without his experience have run, they have universally done worse than him despite copying his rhetoric and often having similar celebrity backgrounds. Because of this, there’s reason to doubt that anybody from any non-political background will be able to slot in and replicate Trump’s appeal without any turbulence.

Thankfully, the unionist-to-politician pipeline is a very common one in most advanced democracies, which suggests that Fain might be seen as a more legitimate political figure than the likes of Dr. Oz or Herschel Walker. In the best-case scenario, he could maybe hit the kind of sweet spot often enjoyed by businesspersons-turned-politicians: separated from the establishment while still boasting a resume that voters see as credible. With the labor movement currently more popular than it has been in decades, there’s a real chance that he could accomplish this and prove to be extraordinarily appealing in a way most traditional politicians never could be.

If there’s any good reason to hope against a Fain run beyond the fact that this would be something of a leap of faith, it’s the fact that his schedule for 2028 may already be booked. For the past year, Fain has been organizing a national general strike scheduled for May 1st, 2028, a monumental task that would almost certainly need to be shelved if he chooses to run nationally. For this reason, he lands in A Tier: worth supporting against practically all elected Democratic officials and left-leaning celebrities, but maybe best positioned in a supporting role for the other potential leaders out there. As for who those leaders might be, just read on.

Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-MI)