Early polling for the 2028 Democratic presidential primary has former Vice President Kamala Harris as the front-runner, followed by California Gov. Gavin Newsom, former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg and New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. Some of the party's stronger general election prospects, including Govs. Andy Beshear of Kentucky and Josh Shapiro of Pennsylvania, are stuck in the low single digits.

Naturally, those with more name recognition get more attention in early primary polling, and there is plenty of time for the field to change. But that dynamic points to a real problem for Democrats.

Their most recognizable presidential candidates are also their weakest. The names voters already know are the ones who would struggle most in a general election, while the candidates best positioned to actually win are starting from near zero.

Harris? Buttigieg? The Democratic front-runners are weak.

Harris leading the pack makes sense – she was the nominee in 2024. But nominating her again would be a grave mistake.

She will try to explain her loss to President Donald Trump as a matter of circumstance, pointing to Joe Biden's late exit and the compressed timeline. Those were real handicaps.

Even so, they don't explain away her shortcomings as a candidate. Even with a full campaign, she........

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