Sen. Raphael Warnock (D-GA) is embarking on a multistate midterm tour to stump for candidates in key margin states as pundits expect him to eye a possible 2028 presidential bid.
Warnock joins the ranks of dozens of possible 2028 candidates who have taken to the campaign trail this midterm season to try to grow their party’s majority and flip or secure seats for their party in a crucial nonpresidential election year. Warnock is not up for reelection in 2026, unlike his Georgia seatmate, Sen. Jon Ossoff (D-GA), so he is headed to other states to vouch for candidates across the country.
Warnock is stumping for candidates in states such as South Carolina, North Carolina, Nevada, Mississippi, Michigan, and Ohio. The Baptist minister from Savannah, Georgia, will undertake his 2026 tour in New Hampshire, stumping for Rep. Chris Pappas (D-NH), who is running for U.S. Senate against Republican former Sen. John Sununu.
“I’m excited to join Congressman Chris Pappas on the campaign trail this week,” Warnock told local New Hampshire outlet WMUR. “Chris is a champion for New Hampshire families and small businesses. The Senate needs more public servants like Chris focused on getting results.”
The New Hampshire race to replace retiring Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH) is tagged as a toss-up race by Cook Political Report.
Notably, New Hampshire is also historically the first primary state alongside the Iowa caucuses in presidential elections; this year, though, as they did in 2024, the Democratic National Committee elevated South Carolina as the first primary state in the 2028 calendar. However, New Hampshire and Pappas are still getting a lot of attention from prospective 2028 candidates, with former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg stumping there over the weekend.
A spokesperson for Warnock’s team told Politico that the senator will be preaching a message against President Donald Trump’s agenda.
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“Senator Reverend Warnock will be hitting the trail to energize voters who are sick of the President enriching himself while ordinary people continue to pay more for everything,” a spokesperson told the outlet. “Tapping into the righteous anger that voters are feeling across the country, the pastor in the Senate will again make the campaign trail his pulpit: calling out Trump’s corruption, while leaving voters hopeful for the next generation of Democratic leadership.”
Warnock released a new book in 2026, titled The Crooked Places Made Straight, in which he draws on his ministerial background and inspects national problems through the perspective of faith and morality. Not only is a book usually a sign of a run for higher office, but he also did not rule out the idea of running for president in two years during an appearance at the Texas Tribune Festival in late September.
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[ H/T Washington Examiner ]
