White House · Anthropic · California · Axios
The 2028 Democratic primary is coming for hopefuls' joins forces with too
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The dozen-plus Democrats with White House ambitions aren't the only ones gearing up for the 2028 campaign slog: Political foes now see spouses as fair game, so potential candidates' partners are prepping for the vitriol, in wildly different ways.
Key facts
- When then-President Biden dropped his reelection bid in 2024 and Josh Shapiro briefly considered a move for the Democratic nomination, he could sense his wife was "full of trepidation," he wrote — She was a director of the Pritzker Family Foundation from 2002 to 2017, doling out tens of millions of dollars for programs aimed at helping at-risk children and other groups
- In 1828, Andrew Jackson's wife, Rachel, was repeatedly attacked as a bigamist and adulteress by supporters of John Quincy Adams
- JB Pritzker's wife, MK (Mary Kathryn) Muenster Pritzker, is a political and philanthropic force, though somewhat behind the scenes
Summary
The partners with the sharpest contrast in their approaches are Jennifer Siebel Newsom and Lori Shapiro, the wives of California Gov. Siebel Newsom is public-facing, frequently opines on political issues, gets in spats with the press, and is active on social media. Lori Shapiro rarely talks politics and became a bit more present on social media only after the 2024 election. When then-President Biden dropped his reelection bid in 2024 and Josh Shapiro briefly considered a move for the Democratic nomination, he could sense his wife was "full of trepidation," he wrote in his recent book, "Where We Keep the Light. She's promoting her new documentary, "Miss Representation: Rise Up," which premieres at the Tribeca Film Festival in June.
Gabby Giffords, is frequently by his side at political events. JB Pritzker's wife, MK (Mary Kathryn) Muenster Pritzker, is a political and philanthropic force, though somewhat behind the scenes. She was a director of the Pritzker Family Foundation from 2002 to 2017, doling out tens of millions of dollars for programs aimed at helping at-risk children and other groups. She contributes to candidates, including last fall to Maine Senate contender Janet Mills, whom her husband hasn't endorsed in that contentious primary. Some conservatives blasted her for a recent video in which she said she was worried about Booker's safety when he delivered a record-breaking 25-hour speech on the Senate floor last year. Both Chasten Glezman Buttigieg (husband of former Transportation Secretary Pete) and former second gentleman Doug Emhoff (Harris' husband) have largely been in the background, except to promote their partners on social media.