Sen. Chris Van Hollen says he is ‘kicking the tires’ on a potential 2028 presidential bid

Sen. Chris Van Hollen, D-Md., said in an interview on NBC’s “Meet the Press” that he’s “kicking the tires” on a potential 2028 presidential bid.

“We need to be against the status quo, and that’s why I’ve been kicking the tires as I look at 2028 because I don’t think the Democratic Party has answered the call about how we’re going to make sure we have an economy that really does work for everybody, especially working people,” he said.

The senator’s comments came as he was pressed on whether he is interested in challenging Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., as the chamber’s party leader, if Democrats retake the Senate this fall.

Asked by moderator Kristen Welker whether he was interested in the position, Van Hollen said that his focus was “not on majority leader, it’s on what Democrats stand for going into 2028.”

Van Hollen, a longtime member of Congress, has been a prominent critic of the Trump administration and has pushed for Democrats to provide a clear alternative to the Republican Party’s agenda. He has previously said he is “kicking the tires” in considering a potential 2028 run, acknowledging the possibility of a presidential campaign to NOTUS and at the Hill Nation Summit, an annual event put on by The Hill and NewsNation.

Asked to clarify on “Meet the Press” whether his “kicking the tires” comments meant he was thinking about running, he noted that he has been to New Hampshire and Iowa, which have historically been the first two nominating states. In 2028, New Hampshire will still be an early nominating state, but Iowa was pushed out of the early window.

“I think there’s a great deal of churning within the Democratic party, and I support that,” he said. “As I said, I think we need this healthy debate because I don’t think Democrats have put forward a clear alternative to the Trump administration.”

Pushed again on whether he was considering running for president, Van Hollen said, “Democrats need to be very clear not just what we’re against, but what we’re for.”

“I very much want to be part of that debate, and I am kicking the tires, testing the waters,” he said.

Several other Democrats have appeared open to running for president in 2028 in what could be a wide field of candidates, with no clear potential frontrunner.

Gov. Gavin Newsom, D-Calif., has said that he would be “lying” if he denied that he was considering a presidential campaign. Gov. Andy Beshear, D-Ky., has said he may “take a look” at running for the Oval Office. Former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said in an interview on “The Diary Of A CEO” podcast that he doesn’t know if he will run for president, but is “more inclined than not.” Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., has said she hasn’t “ruled out the possibility” of running for president. Sen. Cory Booker, D-N.J., also has not ruled out a run, and Sen. Ruben Gallego, D-Ariz., said he would “have to look at” the possibility of a run. Former Vice President Kamala Harris, too, has said she is “thinking about” running for president again.

Van Hollen was also asked on “Meet the Press” about whether he believes Democratic socialists should have a place in the Democratic Party. He said that “they do, as part of the debate.”

“I’m not afraid to debate,” he added. “I think that those in the Democratic Party who are afraid of a healthy debate are missing the point because voters, including Democratic voters, they don’t want to simply return to the pre-Trump status quo. They want Democrats who are going to stand for something, and I can strongly disagree with one set of Democrats. But I think that debate is healthy.”

Multiple Democratic socialists have won primaries this cycle, including most recently Angie Nixon, who won the Florida Democratic primary for Senate last week. Nixon is a member of the Democratic Socialists of America, a group whose platform includes replacing “the president and Supreme Court with an executive and judiciary chosen by and subordinate to Congress,” and to “abolish the Senate.”

Asked whether those platform points went too far for him, Van Hollen said, “of course.”

“Yes, of course they do for me, and I think a lot of the folks who are running, regardless of where they are on the Democratic spectrum, have rejected those ideas,” he said.

Van Hollen served in the House for more than a decade before being sworn in as senator in 2017.