NEW YORK (BLOOMBERG) -- A horde of 2028 Democratic presidential hopefuls will descend on the Sheraton Hotel in New York’s Times Square this week for Al Sharpton’s National Action Network conference, nearly two years before the first primary votes will be cast.
Among those expected to appear at the event are Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro, Maryland Governor Wes Moore, Illinois Governor JB Pritzker, former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear, Senators Ruben Gallego and Mark Kelly, and former Vice President and 2024 nominee Kamala Harris.
All are scheduled to share the stage with Sharpton over the course of the four-day gathering, participating in fireside chats with the 71-year-old civil rights leader. The meeting begins on Wednesday and wraps up on Saturday.
The annual political conclave has become a key stop for candidates hoping to win Black support. This year’s crowded roster is a sign that Democrats are eager to press their case against the Trump administration and differentiate themselves from the pack.
California Governor Gavin Newsom, who is considered the favorite to win the nomination by betters on Polymarket, isn’t currently expected to attend due to a family-related scheduling conflict.
Sharpton said in an interview that he had met with Newsom in recent weeks and that the governor will likely appear on his TV show.
Sharpton’s conference is one of the largest gatherings of potential White House candidates since the 2024 presidential election, and the first major gathering of Black political leaders since the death of civil rights leader Jesse Jackson Sr. in February.
The convention, now in its 35th year, “has become a very important convener for issues specific to the African-American community and the activist community,” said Basil Smikle Jr., professor at Columbia University’s School of Professional Studies and former executive director of the New York State Democratic Party.
“No candidate will be successful in a primary or win a general without Black voters,” Smikle said.
The conference is a key step in Sharpton’s endorsement process, he said. He wants to hear from the attendees about what they’ve done to combat President Donald Trump’s efforts to limit voting access and diversity, equity and inclusion programs, and what they would do if elected.
Sharpton, who ran his own unsuccessful campaign for president in 2004, also wants to observe how well the potential candidates mesh with conference attendees.
“I will be looking at their chemistry with our community,” Sharpton said.
While Black voters don’t comprise a majority of the Democratic electorate, they are generally considered the party’s most reliable voters. In 2016, 2020 and 2024, the Democratic presidential nominee won between 83% and 92% of Black votes. The Democratic field is expected to face early 2028 contests in South Carolina, Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi and Louisiana, states with large Black populations.
Trump was able to make inroads with nonwhite voters in 2024, but Sharpton believes that the president has erased any gains he made with his efforts to dismantle voting-rights protections and diversity programs.
“Blacks that didn’t vote before said they’ll stand in line five hours to make sure whoever succeeds Donald Trump does not keep these programs,” Sharpton said, adding that voters are often motivated either by hope or anger.
“We got more anger than we can even quell ready for 2028,” he said.
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