2028 United States Presidential Election (Om's World)

The 2028 United States presidential election was the 61st quadrennial presidential election, held on Tuesday, November 7, 2028. The Republican ticket of television host and political commentator Tucker Carlson and Arizona Congressman Paul Gosar defeated the incumbent Democratic President Kamala Harris and Vice President Roy Cooper. Analysts have identified the 2028 election as a realigning election, as the neoconservative politics of the Reagan era were abandoned by the Republican Party in favor of white identitarianism and a populist fiscal platform. This was also the sixth consecutive election in which the Democratic candidate won the popular vote.

In the Democratic primaries, President Harris, who suffered from low approval ratings due to the onset of the 2026 financial crisis, faced a close primary challenge from Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio Cortez, who alleged Harris's response to the crisis was insufficient and that Harris had ignored the progressive wing of the party. Although Cortez won 65 more pledged delegates than Harris, Harris was re-nominated at the Democratic convention. On the Republican side, Former President Trump, who had passed away in 2025, continued to loom large over the party after denouncing the previous nominee, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis. Tucker Carlson, who was a popular figure in the party, won the nomination over previous Vice Presidential nominee and U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley.

The 2026 financial crisis, which was still ongoing due to an inability of the Harris administration to compromise with the Republican-controlled House and Senate on a relief package, was the main issue of the election, although immigration, the continued economic rise of China, and election reform laws were also major sources of contention. Carlson's fiery populist rhetoric was likened to Trump's and was cautioned by experts as being characteristic of authoritarian strongmen. Carlson blamed the crisis on Harris, accusing her of being a "Chinese puppet," and a "trojan horse for Chinese communism in America." Throughout the election, Carlson openly pushed the great replacement theory and made racially charged statements, in one speech comparing Chinese immigrants to "mangled, disease-ridden dogs." Accusations of antisemitism also marred the Carlson campaign. Harris defended her handling of the economy and was sharply critical of Carlson's statements on immigration, saying at a fundraiser in Pennsylvania: "There is no place for that kind of attitude in a multiracial America."

After the 2024 election, gradually more restrictive election reform laws were enacted in states with Republican legislatures in order to give Republicans entrenched electoral advantages. International democracy watchdogs such as the Carter Center and Brennan Center criticized these reforms and warned of democratic backsliding, but otherwise noted no electoral irregularities and that the election was secure and free. Despite winning, Carlson contested the results of the election, accusing democratic officials in Georgia of incinerating Republican ballots. This would be the last time election in which international watchdogs would characterize an American presidential election as secure and free.

On election night, Carlson swept the rust belt states of Wisconsin, Michigan, and Pennsylvania that DeSantis won in 2024, additionally winning Minnesota. Carlson also won the New England states of New Hampshire and Maine, the latter of which was his home state, making him the first Republican to carry the state since 1988. Carlson also carried the sun belt states of Nevada, Arizona, and North Carolina, which were instrumental to Harris's win in 2024.

Democratic Party
Kamala Harris became the nominee of the Democratic Party when she secured enough delegates to ensure her nomination at the Democratic National Convention on July 22. Her nomination spurred outcry from the supporters of rival Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio Cortez, who had amassed more pledged delegates than her during the primary process.

Republican Party
Tucker Carlson became the presumptive nominee of the Republican Party on June 12, 2028, when he secured enough delegates to ensure his nomination at the national convention. He was formally nominated at the convention on July 15.

2026 Financial crisis
Polls taken in the last few months of the election season and exit polls showed the economy at the top of concern for voters. Although praised for its handling of COVID-19 recession, the federal reserve was hesitant to scale back its purchasing government bonds and mortgage-backed securities and raise interest rates, concerned that new mutations of COVID-19 such as the delta strain could could prolong lockdowns and mask mandates and harm the U.S. economy. As a result, inflation soared in the early 2020s. Stimulus packages pushed by the Biden administration, including the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 and American Jobs and Family Plan Acts of 2022, alleviated this effects of this inflation. However, inaction by the fed continued to contribute to a highly speculative market and the resulting stock market and real estate bubbles. On March 10, 2026, the Dow Jones Industrial Average plunged 4,680 points, the largest single-day drop ever. By August 2026, many news outlets were reporting that the United Stated was in the worst economic downturn since the Great Recession of 2008. Negotiations between President Kamala Harris and Senate Majority Leader John Barrasso and Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy over stimulus efforts broke down. As a result, the recession was prolonged. Harris's use of executive orders to stimulate the economy proved feeble, as most were shot down by Republican-appointed judges in lower courts. Carlson pledged to work with the Republican House and Senate to provide aid to families and individuals affected by the recession.

Electoral results
The numbers in the table are the results certified by each state, detailed in the table of the results by state further below.