2028 presidential hopefuls flock to key battleground states: where have they traveled?

With a year to go before the 2026 midterm elections, top names in the Democratic Party have been taking the show on the road, saying they are helping the party lay the groundwork for the battle for the U.S. House of Representatives.

They could also be preparing to run for president.

ABC News has tracked at least 24 visits by Democratic presidential hopefuls to the campaign trail in key 2025 elections that Democrats swept: the New Jersey and Virginia gubernatorial races, the New York City mayoral race and the California redistricting proposal election.

Separately, ABC News has tracked at least 43 visits or planned visits so far in 2025 and 2026 by Democratic presidential hopefuls to key early presidential election or battleground states. Some of those states are also expected to be key House battlegrounds in 2026.

The initial and contested state count excludes whether the state is your home state and does not count multiple visits by the same candidate.

“Anyone looking at the 2028 cycle is starting to get down the road…Placing an emphasis on states that could determine control of the House is your best option, and should probably be your only focus from now until the midterm elections,” Sawyer Hackett, a veteran Democratic strategist who worked on the presidential campaigns of Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton and Julián Castro, told ABC News.

2025 election states: New Jersey, Virginia, California, New York

In New Jersey, Democratic candidate and U.S. Rep. Mikie Sherrill received support from a host of presidential hopefuls, including former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, former Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel, Arizona Sen. Ruben Gallego, Arizona Sen. Mark Kelly, California Rep. Ro Khanna, Minnesota Sen. Amy Klobuchar, Maryland Gov. Wes Moore, Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro, New Jersey Sen. Cory Booker and the Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer.

And in Virginia, Democratic candidate and former U.S. Rep. Abigail Spanberger had the support of Beshear, Buttigieg, Emanuel, Gallego, Kelly, Khanna, Moore, Shapiro and Whitmer.

California Gov. Gavin Newsom, former Vice President Kamala Harris and Klobuchar separately stumped for “Proposition 50” in California, while Khanna and New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez stumped for Democratic mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani in New York City.

First key states: Iowa, New Hampshire, South Carolina

Some presidential hopefuls have flocked to states with early nominating contests. The Democratic Party is currently reevaluating its schedule for when those first races will take place, but Hackett said Democrats hoping to run are still covering their bases.

Iowa, which typically hosts the nation’s first caucuses, will host a closely watched Senate race next year. The state also has some competitive House seats.

Iowa hosted the former governor of Minnesota. Tim Waltz in March and Trade for a town hall in May, while Galician visited in August and emmanuel It arrived in September. Kelly He is scheduled to visit in November, while Maryland Sen. Chris Van Hollen spoke to Iowa Democrats. in september.

New Hampshire, which is holding the nation’s first presidential primary and will hold a contested U.S. Senate race in 2026 to fill the seat being vacated by Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, has welcomed several lawmakers. Governor of Kentucky Andy Beshear visited earlier this month; Galician and Khanna He stopped by here in August; Klobuchar He was there in July and the senator from New Jersey. Cory Booker I will visit him in November.

When the governor of Illinois JB Pritzker When he visited the country in April, he painted a dire picture for his party.

“Fellow Democrats, for too long we have been guilty of listening to a bunch of do-nothing political types telling you that America’s house is not on fire, even as the flames licked their faces,” Pritzker said.

Meanwhile, South Carolina also has an early presidential primary. This year he received visits from Beshear, Khanna and Newsom in July, who told rural residents “what we’re experiencing is America turned upside down.”

Kelly visited in September, while Maryland Governor Wes Moore and Walz visited at the end of May for South Carolina Rep. Jim Clyburn’s “Fish Fry” event, which has often been fertile waters for Pennsylvania Avenue hopefuls.

Both Walz and Moore previously told ABC News that they are not “running” for president or have no plans to run.

Disputed states: Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, North Carolina, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin

Several 2028 presidential hopefuls have also made their way in the seven battleground states, which both parties consider winnable and have enormous influence over where campaigns place their resources.

Some potential candidates have visited or plan to visit Arizona, including Ocasio-Cortez, who visited in March as part of the Fighting Oligarchy tour led by independent Sen. Bernie Sanders. Whitmer visited in marchwhile booking visited in April and Trade visited in October. Harriswho recently said he will “possibly” run for president again, will speak there in April 2026.

Arizona currently has two congressional seats held by Republicans considered competitive, according to the Cook Political Report.

Georgia is often the scene of a close presidential race and critical negative elections. Khanna visited in Augustwhile Harris made a stop there on his book tour in October.

Further north, Moore and Khanna This year they have made visits to the battleground state of Michigan, where both President Donald Trump and Democratic Senate candidate Elissa Slotkin won in 2024.

Wisconsin, which had the closest margin between Trump and Harris in 2024 of the battleground states, received visits from Klobuchar in march, Khanna in May, Walz in March and September and Whitmer in October.

Nevada, which also typically features early on the presidential primary calendar, received visits this year from Ocasio-Cortez in march, Pritzker and Khanna in August, and Galician and Kelly in September.

North Carolina received visits from Pritzker in July and Trade in September. Harris visited for her book tour there in October, while her fellow Californian Khanna will pass by here in November.

Pennsylvania is also a key battleground state. Moore gave a commencement address at Lincoln University at Gettysburg in May, the same month Galician and Khanna They made their own visits. In particular, two Pennsylvania Republicans, Reps. Scott Perry and Ryan Mackenzie, are expected to face fierce fights to keep their seats.

Khanna recently said the party’s goal is to regain control of the House, which has a Republican majority.

“We already have a number of great candidates emerging for 2028, but now the focus has to be on winning back the House in terms of political priority,” Khanna said. told the public media organization WHY.