A very early look at 2028, kept honest.

2028 POTUS Experimental, early

Potential candidates ranked by how well their behavioral profile fits the national mood, not by who is likely to win. It is years out, the field is unsettled, and no one has declared. Fit scored as of 2026-09-16.

If the country voted today mood snapshot, not a 2028 forecast

Read this as a snapshot, not a prediction. This shows where today's national mood would tilt the presidential map if an election were held now. It is NOT a 2028 forecast: no 2028 candidates are set, mood shifts week to week, and our validated model (Brier 0.119) forecasts Senate and Governor races, not the presidency. The figures are party leans and electoral-vote counts, never any candidate's odds.

Neither side clears 270 in this snapshot; the tossups decide it. Updated 2026-09-16.
Democratic 226Tossup 93Republican 219270 to win
Alabama (9 EV): 2024 R+30.5, mood snapshot R+31.5 (Safe R)Alaska (3 EV): 2024 R+13.4, mood snapshot R+6.8 (Lean R)Arizona (11 EV): 2024 R+5.5, mood snapshot R+1.8 (Tossup)Colorado (10 EV): 2024 D+11.1, mood snapshot D+17.5 (Safe D)Florida (30 EV): 2024 R+13.1, mood snapshot R+7.5 (Lean R)Georgia (16 EV): 2024 R+2.2, mood snapshot D+0.8 (Tossup)Indiana (11 EV): 2024 R+19.4, mood snapshot R+20.8 (Safe R)Kansas (6 EV): 2024 R+15.9, mood snapshot R+15.7 (Safe R)Maine (4 EV): 2024 D+7.0, mood snapshot D+7.9 (Lean D)Massachusetts (11 EV): 2024 D+25.0, mood snapshot D+29.9 (Safe D)Minnesota (10 EV): 2024 D+4.3, mood snapshot D+9.6 (Lean D)New Jersey (14 EV): 2024 D+5.9, mood snapshot D+8.8 (Lean D)North Carolina (16 EV): 2024 R+3.2, mood snapshot D+0.2 (Tossup)North Dakota (3 EV): 2024 R+36.5, mood snapshot R+34.4 (Safe R)Oklahoma (7 EV): 2024 R+33.5, mood snapshot R+35.1 (Safe R)Pennsylvania (19 EV): 2024 R+1.7, mood snapshot D+2.1 (Tossup)South Dakota (3 EV): 2024 R+29.4, mood snapshot R+31.1 (Safe R)Texas (40 EV): 2024 R+13.7, mood snapshot R+12.0 (Safe R)Wyoming (3 EV): 2024 R+46.0, mood snapshot R+42.2 (Safe R)Connecticut (7 EV): 2024 D+14.5, mood snapshot D+17.3 (Safe D)Missouri (10 EV): 2024 R+18.4, mood snapshot R+15.8 (Safe R)West Virginia (4 EV): 2024 R+41.9, mood snapshot R+40.2 (Safe R)Illinois (19 EV): 2024 D+11.0, mood snapshot D+15.2 (Safe D)New Mexico (5 EV): 2024 D+5.9, mood snapshot D+9.4 (Lean D)Arkansas (6 EV): 2024 R+30.6, mood snapshot R+32.1 (Safe R)California (54 EV): 2024 D+20.0, mood snapshot D+27.6 (Safe D)Delaware (3 EV): 2024 D+14.7, mood snapshot D+17.5 (Safe D)District of Columbia (3 EV): 2024 D+86.6, mood snapshot D+94.4 (Safe D)Hawaii (4 EV): 2024 D+25.3, mood snapshot D+24.5 (Safe D)Iowa (6 EV): 2024 R+13.3, mood snapshot R+12.4 (Safe R)Kentucky (8 EV): 2024 R+30.5, mood snapshot R+28.5 (Safe R)Maryland (10 EV): 2024 D+29.5, mood snapshot D+35.2 (Safe D)Michigan (15 EV): 2024 R+1.4, mood snapshot D+2.6 (Tossup)Mississippi (6 EV): 2024 R+22.5, mood snapshot R+23.1 (Safe R)Montana (4 EV): 2024 R+20.5, mood snapshot R+18.7 (Safe R)New Hampshire (4 EV): 2024 D+2.8, mood snapshot D+4.4 (Lean D)New York (28 EV): 2024 D+12.6, mood snapshot D+17.5 (Safe D)Ohio (17 EV): 2024 R+11.2, mood snapshot R+8.8 (Lean R)Oregon (8 EV): 2024 D+13.7, mood snapshot D+17.0 (Safe D)Tennessee (11 EV): 2024 R+29.0, mood snapshot R+29.3 (Safe R)Utah (6 EV): 2024 R+22.4, mood snapshot R+18.9 (Safe R)Virginia (13 EV): 2024 D+5.8, mood snapshot D+9.4 (Lean D)Washington (12 EV): 2024 D+17.6, mood snapshot D+23.5 (Safe D)Wisconsin (10 EV): 2024 R+0.9, mood snapshot R+0.3 (Tossup)Nebraska (5 EV): 2024 R+20.7, mood snapshot R+20.0 (Safe R)South Carolina (9 EV): 2024 R+17.6, mood snapshot R+18.1 (Safe R)Idaho (4 EV): 2024 R+36.6, mood snapshot R+37.7 (Safe R)Nevada (6 EV): 2024 R+3.1, mood snapshot D+0.6 (Tossup)Vermont (3 EV): 2024 D+31.9, mood snapshot D+33.1 (Safe D)Louisiana (8 EV): 2024 R+22.2, mood snapshot R+22.1 (Safe R)Rhode Island (4 EV): 2024 D+7.7, mood snapshot D+13.2 (Safe D)
Safe DLean DTossupLean RSafe R
Safe D (176 EV)
DC 3MD 10VT 3MA 11CA 54HI 4WA 12CO 10NY 28DE 3CT 7OR 8IL 19RI 4
Lean D (50 EV)
MN 10NM 5VA 13NJ 14ME 4NH 4
Tossup (93 EV)
MI 15PA 19GA 16NV 6NC 16WI 10AZ 11
Lean R (50 EV)
AK 3FL 30OH 17
Safe R (169 EV)
TX 40IA 6KS 6MO 10SC 9MT 4UT 6NE 5IN 11LA 8MS 6KY 8TN 11SD 3AL 9AR 6ND 3OK 7ID 4WV 4WY 3
How this is built (plain words)

For each state we start from its 2024 presidential margin, shift it by the current behavioral mood (each mood point above 50 nudges the state about half a point toward the Democrats, below 50 toward the Republicans), and add a 2-point thermostat tilt toward the party out of the White House (today the Democrats; it follows the party in power). We then bucket the result: Safe (margin over 10), Lean (3 to 10), Tossup (within 3), and sum each state's electoral votes. No polls, no betting markets, and we do not run the Senate and Governor model on the presidency. As the mood moves, this map moves with it.

Candidate fit rankings

Each score is the alignment between a candidate's behavioral profile and the current state-mood snapshot, on a 0 to 100 scale where 50 is neutral, averaged across the other 49 states and weighted by electoral votes so bigger states count more (a candidate's home state is excluded so favorite-son effects don't inflate their own number). This is fit, not a primary or general win probability. How fit is computed.

D Top Democrats by fit
Wes Moore photo from Wikipedia
Wes Moore
Governor of Maryland · MD
61 / 100
national fit, 50 = neutral · fit, not win odds
Home state MD excluded from fit
National 61 Battleground 58
Strongest outside home: MA 96 · Weakest: ID 22
Undeclared Solid fit
Model candidate-v1.0 · computed 2026-09-16
Photo: Maryland State Government (CC BY-SA 4.0)
Andrew Cuomo photo from Wikipedia
Andrew Cuomo
Former Governor of New York · NY
59 / 100
national fit, 50 = neutral · fit, not win odds
Home state NY excluded from fit
National 59 Battleground 55
Strongest outside home: MN 86 · Weakest: TN 23
Undeclared Mixed fit
Model candidate-v1.0 · computed 2026-09-16
Photo: Casey "Poppins" Nedelka (CC BY-SA 4.0)
Mark Kelly photo from Wikipedia
Mark Kelly
Senator from Arizona · AZ
59 / 100
national fit, 50 = neutral · fit, not win odds
Home state AZ excluded from fit
National 59 Battleground 56
Strongest outside home: WA 89 · Weakest: SC 29
Undeclared Mixed fit
Model candidate-v1.0 · computed 2026-09-16
Rahm Emanuel photo from Wikipedia
Rahm Emanuel
Former Mayor of Chicago · IL
59 / 100
national fit, 50 = neutral · fit, not win odds
Home state IL excluded from fit
National 59 Battleground 53
Strongest outside home: GA 94 · Weakest: ND 13
Undeclared Mixed fit
Model candidate-v1.0 · computed 2026-09-16
JB Pritzker photo from Wikipedia
JB Pritzker
Governor of Illinois · IL
56 / 100
national fit, 50 = neutral · fit, not win odds
Home state IL excluded from fit
National 56 Battleground 50
Strongest outside home: GA 93 · Weakest: ND 8
Undeclared Mixed fit
Model candidate-v1.0 · computed 2026-09-16
Photo: Oscar Garza (CC BY-SA 4.0)
R Top Republicans by fit
Glenn Youngkin photo from Wikipedia
Glenn Youngkin
Governor of Virginia · VA
63 / 100
national fit, 50 = neutral · fit, not win odds
Home state VA excluded from fit
National 63 Battleground 62
Strongest outside home: MA 92 · Weakest: HI 29
Undeclared Solid fit
Model candidate-v1.0 · computed 2026-09-16
Greg Abbott photo from Wikipedia
Greg Abbott
Governor of Texas · TX
61 / 100
national fit, 50 = neutral · fit, not win odds
Home state TX excluded from fit
National 61 Battleground 55
Strongest outside home: AL 96 · Weakest: NV 29
Undeclared Solid fit
Model candidate-v1.0 · computed 2026-09-16
Ted Cruz photo from Wikipedia
Ted Cruz
Senator from Texas · TX
61 / 100
national fit, 50 = neutral · fit, not win odds
Home state TX excluded from fit
National 61 Battleground 55
Strongest outside home: AL 96 · Weakest: NV 29
Undeclared Solid fit
Model candidate-v1.0 · computed 2026-09-16
Ron DeSantis photo from Wikipedia
Ron DeSantis
Governor of Florida · FL
61 / 100
national fit, 50 = neutral · fit, not win odds
Home state FL excluded from fit
National 61 Battleground 54
Strongest outside home: VA 94 · Weakest: NV 33
Undeclared Solid fit
Model candidate-v1.0 · computed 2026-09-16
Marco Rubio photo from Wikipedia
Marco Rubio
Secretary of State · FL
60 / 100
national fit, 50 = neutral · fit, not win odds
Home state FL excluded from fit
National 60 Battleground 54
Strongest outside home: VA 94 · Weakest: ND 29
Undeclared Solid fit
Model candidate-v1.0 · computed 2026-09-16

Ranked by fit, not win odds. Tagged experimental. Every name is undeclared this far out. Inclusion is not an endorsement.