The rapidly escalating state of political violence in the United States is creating a class of potential presidential candidates for 2028 who have directly experienced or had to confront such incidents.
At least a half-dozen officials who may run for president in 2028 have faced political violence, lost friends in similar plots or had to manage political unrest in their states.
The assassination of Minnesota House of Representatives Majority Leader Melissa Hortman, a Democrat, and her husband is among the most recent violence to garner national attention. Another Democratic state legislator and his wife were also shot multiple times and are recovering.
Gov. Tim Walz, a Democrat vice presidential possibility in 2024 and a potential White House contender in 2028, has directed communications in a major investigation and manhunt and confronted the grief of losing “our dearest friends.”
California Gov. Gavin Newsom is squaring off with the White House over its use of federal law enforcement amid protests of immigration arrests in the state.
In Pennsylvania, Gov. Josh Shapiro has faced a Molotov cocktail attack on his residence over his views on the Israel-Palestine conflict. He’s also dealt with the fallout from political violence after a Donald Trump assassination in Butler last July; the shooter also killed a man at the Trump campaign rally that day.
Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer was the subject of a kidnapping plot in 2020.
Sen. Amy Klobuchar, who ran in 2020 and could be a potential 2028 candidate, said she had dined with Hortman just hours before the assassinations.
Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker said a “disturbing” list of 600 names of officials was found in the belongings of Vince Boelter, the suspect in the killings of Hortman and her husband. Pritzker said he wasn’t on the list.
A volatile political environment often awash in misinformation and partisan hatred has contributed to a string of attacks on officeholders, according to NBC News. Leaders need to show they can help heal communities, lower the temperature and even achieve bipartisan consensus.
Former Trump White House press secretary Stephanie Grisham, who resigned after the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol, said, “The country has spoken very loudly that they’re sick and tired of the divisiveness and I think the country is sick and tired of violence and what it’s doing to the children and the heartache it’s causing people.”
Sens. Chris Murphy and Klobuchar were also present during the violent attack on the Capitol that day.
The toxicity and division that has exploded in America over the past decade has resulted in a steady increase in threats against members of Congress. Capitol Police saw an 18% increase in the number of threats last year.
“When someone attacks an individual — like this weekend, like Gov. Shapiro, like Steve Scalise a few years ago — that’s not just an attack on a political ideology, but it’s an attack on public service,” said former Sen. Doug Jones.
After facing his own troubles with law enforcement, Gov. Shapiro posted a message on social media after hearing about the politically motivated shooting in Minnesota.
Steve Schale, a Florida Democratic strategist, said the threats against officials can have a chilling effect.
Schale said part of Joe Biden’s success in 2020 was thanks to his ability to run against chaos, and a similar dynamic could play out in 2028. “Candidates who can speak to these fears and then speak in a unifying way, I think, probably do well,” he said. “But more importantly, I just think all of us who have platforms at any level have to be more responsible about what we say and how we contribute to it.”
Trump condemned the Minnesota killings on his social media platform.
However, he declined to call Walz after Saturday’s killings, the shootings of two others and the ensuing manhunt. Instead, he disparaged the governor.
Per NBC News.
