Democrats are already scheming for 2028.
James Carville – Clinton's legendary strategist who predicted Kamala Harris would sail to victory in 2024 – just made another bold prediction.
And the billionaire governor he's backing is going to make every Democrat panic.
Carville Picks Illinois Governor For 2028 Presidential Run Over Kamala Harris
"If I had to say one guy… I'd take JB Pritzker," Carville announced on Fox News contributor Raymond Arroyo's podcast this week.
The Illinois governor running for his third term just became Carville's favorite to carry the Democratic flag into 2028.
Pritzker is worth $3.7 billion from the Hyatt hotel empire and has bankrolled his own campaigns while spending the last year positioning himself as Trump's chief antagonist.
Kamala Harris Has "No Chance" In 2028 Democratic Primary Says Carville
Carville didn't stop with praise for Pritzker.
He delivered a knockout blow to Kamala Harris's 2028 hopes.
"She has no chance," Carville said flatly when asked about Harris running again.
"No Democrat wants anything to do with anybody that had anything to do with 2024."
Harris replaced Joe Biden after his disastrous debate performance in July 2024 and lost all seven battleground states to Trump in November.
Carville argued that Harris can't energize the Black community for another run despite being the first Black female vice president.
The Democratic mantra for 2028 is simple: "just win."
Carville said if Democrats nominate two white males, "nobody's going to give a s—."
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez Won't Win 2028 Democratic Nomination Either
Progressive star Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez won't work either, according to Carville.
"She has talent, and she's very smart," he admitted.
But "the reason she is not going to work" comes down to Democratic culture.
"Democratic culture became very feminized and very judgmental and that's why we pushed so many of the males away," Carville explained.
Ocasio-Cortez and progressive allies have alienated male voters wholesale – the party that used to own working-class men now hemorrhages them to Trump.
JB Pritzker's Illinois Record Shows Why Democrats Should Worry About 2028
Illinois ranks 46th in economic outlook and 47th in economic performance over the past decade according to the American Legislative Exchange Council.
The state economy has grown just 4.4% since Pritzker took office in 2019 – three times slower than the 12.2% U.S. growth rate.
Pritzker has raised taxes and fees 49 times compared to just nine under his predecessor Bruce Rauner, yet state spending exploded 36% under Pritzker versus just 8% under Rauner.
Illinois lost 1.6 million residents since 2000 while spending $2.6 billion on migrant services for an estimated 530,000 undocumented immigrants.
He eliminated the Invest in Kids scholarship program that helped over 15,000 low-income families access better schools.
He extended COVID emergency powers more than 40 times – long after other states ended their declarations.
The state owes $144 billion in pension debt that actuaries believe could be much higher.
This is the man Carville thinks can beat Republicans in swing states.
The 2028 Democratic Primary Field Is Already Falling Apart
Carville's endorsement reveals the Democrats' fundamental problem – they're out of options.
Harris is toxic from 2024.
AOC alienates the male voters Democrats desperately need back.
Gavin Newsom and Gretchen Whitmer will leave office in 2027 due to term limits.
So Carville's betting on the billionaire from Illinois who presided over his state becoming what critics call "the sick child of the Midwest."
Pritzker has been making moves – traveling to New Hampshire for the Democrats' 100-Club Dinner, appearing on Jimmy Kimmel, doing national media tours, comparing Trump to Nazi Germany.
But no amount of anti-Trump posturing can hide the Illinois disaster.
A recent University of New Hampshire poll shows the Democrats' 2028 chaos clearly.
Pete Buttigieg topped the poll at 19% with Newsom second at 15%.
Harris came in fourth at just 11% – behind Ocasio-Cortez at 13%.
Carville also blamed Barack Obama and Joe Biden for Trump's victories in 2016 and 2024.
Obama's continuation of the unpopular TARP bank bailout created the conditions for Trump's rise, according to Carville.
And Biden's refusal to drop out until July 2024 ensured Harris couldn't build a real campaign.
"There is one person who is responsible for the election of Donald Trump in 2024, and it's not Donald Trump, it's Joe Biden," Carville emphasized.
Carville's 2028 Election Prediction History Should Worry Democrats
Carville's prediction track record lately has been abysmal.
He wrote a New York Times op-ed titled "Three Reasons I'm Certain Kamala Harris Will Win" before she lost in a landslide.
Now he's certain again – this time about a governor who has presided over Illinois's economic decline while spending hundreds of millions of his family fortune on political power.
The same strategist who was dead wrong about 2024 just picked the Democrat he'd "bet real money on" for 2028.
Democrats watching their 2028 field tear itself apart should ask one question: How'd Carville's last bet work out?
Sources:
- Paul Steinhauser, "The Democrat James Carville thinks is worth watching in 2028 will surprise you," Fox News, January 29, 2026.
- Natasha Korecki, "How JB Pritzker's decision to run for re-election could impact his 2028 aspirations," NBC News, June 26, 2025.
- Paul Vallas, "Pritzker for president? Check that Illinois baggage," Illinois Policy Institute, May 27, 2025.
- James Carville, "Arroyo Grande" podcast, January 28, 2026.