The list of 2028 presidential hopefuls is longer than you think. Just ask Hawaii Gov. Josh Green.

NBC News

2 days ago

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. — When it comes to the 2028 Democratic presidential contest, political pundits are already drawing up a broad list of prospective candidates.
But many recent presidential campaigns have been defined, at least in part, by candidates the prognosticators never saw coming. And the field of Democrats giving serious consideration to 2028 presidential bids is longer than usual at this early stage — and it includes an ambitious Hawaiian with an accomplished background whose last name is not Obama.
Hawaii Gov. Josh Green, a former emergency room physician who was elected governor in 2022 after more than a decade in state politics, said he's giving thought to a campaign in an interview with NBC News last week. (The interview was conducted before Tuesday's tsunami alerts in Hawaii.)
'Among governors, I think there are probably eight to 10 of us who are elevating in the public dialogue,' Green said on the sidelines of last weekend's National Governors Association summer meeting in Colorado.
'I haven't made up my mind about what the future holds,' Green said. 'I would be honored to help whomever. I might even become a potential candidate, but only if I've actually done a good job.'
Green no longer practices medicine, but he continues to lean into the lingo as he ponders his future.
'I believe we're going to have to heal this country in 2028 — and maybe beyond, because there's a lot of conflict that's been going on, and not just during the Trump era,' he said. 'So someone may want a healer.'
Green was among seven Democratic governors to attend last week's governors summit in person. A number of other governors thought to be eyeing 2028 didn't come.
But among the attendees, few others toyed rhetorically with a run with the enthusiasm of Green.
New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy, who will be a political free agent after his second term concludes at the end of the year and whose name has been thrown around in a broader conversation around 2028, said he was focused on his last months in office — though he wouldn't rule out a run.
'I'm consumed by my last six months. Honestly, I haven't given any thought, literally, to what I will do when I hang up my cleats this coming January,' he told NBC News. 'We have an enormous amount to do … I'm gonna defer, in terms of what's next for me until down the road.'
Colorado Gov. Jared Polis was even more tight-lipped.
'I don't have anything on that,' Polis said. 'I'm, as you know, focused on the National Governors Association and in this work that I do here as governor of the state of Colorado.'
Green, meanwhile, is up for re-election next year and indicated he'd run for a second term. But that didn't preclude him from entertaining the idea of a run for higher office soon thereafter.
'I think what you're seeing is likely 10 or 12 of us will end up running for president and or ending up in the Cabinet if we've really elevated in a meaningful way,' Green said. 'We're seeing who actually steps up, and people are able to see us all and see what we're working on.'
Indeed, governors like Gavin Newsom of California, Andy Beshear of Kentucky and Josh Shapiro of Pennsylvania, as well as senators like Chris Murphy of Connecticut, Cory Booker of New Jersey and Ruben Gallego of Arizona, have all done little to tamp down speculation about potential presidential campaigns, making visits to early-voting states, pulling all-night speeches or publicly defying President Donald Trump.
Green praised the wide field of potential Democratic candidates in 2028 — mentioning by name fellow governors Newsom, Beshear and Shapiro, as well as JB Pritzker of Illinois, Wes Moore of Maryland and Gretchen Whitmer of Michigan — describing the unfolding prospective field as taking shape across 'two different approaches.'
'There are individuals who are decidedly fighting totally along party lines. And then there are individuals that are trying to stake out some kind of space where they fight for their ideologies and see if there's a place for achievement and results. And then there's a gray area in between,' Green said.
'These other guys, they have a larger national profile, but people are gonna have to appreciate whether they were able to achieve,' Green said.
Green, a Jewish, 55-year-old medical doctor from Pittsburgh, moved to Hawaii's Big Island 25 years ago after being assigned there by the National Health Service Corps, a government program that sends doctors to underserved communities. He built a life, meeting his wife, raising two children, and entering state politics and serving for 14 years in the state legislature before running for lieutenant governor in 2018.
In 2022, he ran to succeed term-limited Gov. David Ige and won in the deep-blue state. His first two-plus years in the top job have been busy: Most prominently, he oversaw the disaster response to catastrophic Maui wildfires in 2023. He was also out front this week as Hawaii prepared for tsunami waves after a powerful earthquake off the coast of Russia Tuesday. The state canceled an evacuation order Wednesday morning after the state's tsunami alert was lowered.
Green has also expanded reproductive rights and taken actions to counter the high cost of living in Hawaii. He's also increasingly inserted himself into national issues, for example, taking specific aim at Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., whom he's blamed for measles outbreaks.
If he were to run for president, Green would likely face a big task ahead of him to stand out in a crowded Democratic primary, including low name recognition. He might not even be the only Jewish governor named Josh in the race — though he appears aware of such obstacles.
'As a small-state governor, you truly have to earn your reputation,' he said. 'You don't just get to be on Sunday morning shows all the time.'