Two potential 2028 Democratic presidential primary candidates will descend on Cleveland in July to headline a rub elbows with the party’s top mayors — auditioning for another group of key surrogates in the unfolding shadow primary.
Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear and California Rep. Ro Khanna will join Democratic Mayors Association President and Cleveland Mayor Justin Bibb for a national gathering of Democratic mayors alongside DNC Chair Ken Martin, former Ohio Sen. Sherrod Brownand current Ohio Rep. Shontel Brown. Details were shared first with POLITICO.
“The summit will showcase our cities, the work mayors are doing to hold [President Donald] Trump accountable, deliver results, and demonstrate that government can work for the people,” said a person familiar with the planning and granted anonymity to discuss an event that was still being finalized.
The theme of the summit is “Community Over Chaos: A Path Forward.”
“I am excited to welcome my fellow Democratic mayors, special guests, and Democratic partners to my hometown of Cleveland for DMA’s National Summit later this summer,” Bibb told POLITICO. “This year’s summit will be a showcase of our cities and how government at the local level still works for the people. Despite chaos in Washington, mayors continue to find solutions and deliver results each day. I can’t wait for everyone to see what Democratic mayors — and Cleveland — are all about.”
The event is in line with Bibb’s vision for the association playing a more aggressive and vocal role than in years past, and this will mark the first year that DMA’s national summit will be open to the public and press.
But it also comes at a fraught time for Democratic mayors, particularly those of big cities, who have found themselves targeted by the Trump administration.
Both Beshear and Khanna have been making early moves that are aimed at a presidential run. Beshear has hired a former spokesperson for Vice President Kamala Harris’ campaign and started a podcast this spring. Khanna has been on a nonstop tour of media hits and party events.
But Ohio, once a swing state, has drifted even further away from Democrats in recent years. Brown, a longtime Senator who clung to his seat even as it reddened due to his ties to working-class voters, got booted last cycle. President Donald Trump won the state by 11 percentage points.
