“There’s probably going to be 10 to 15 people running, but we have a good bench,” she told the BBC. “We have good candidates, and I really believe that what we’ve seen this past year is the Republicans losing contests: governor, congressional contests, other contests.”

Democrats have been boasting about their momentum heading into the midterm elections following wins in the 2025 elections, including in Virginia, New Jersey, and California. The party is hoping for a similar blue wave to 2018, when Democrats took back a majority in the House from Republicans. 

Clinton said she is “optimistic” about the upcoming elections because of the party’s recent election victories and Trump’s declining favorability. “We’ve also seen Trump’s favorability rating plummet — he’s in the 30s,” she said. “He’s no longer popular, except his hardcore base will stay with him.” 

About 54% of Americans think the country is worse off today than it was a year ago, according to a January Fox News poll. 

Clinton said there is going to be a “messy” contest for the presidency since the United States doesn’t have a parliamentary system. “We really don’t have a leader of the opposition party who would become prime minister or chancellor,” she said. “We have a kind of big messy contest, so people are going to run.” 

There were numerous potential 2028 Democratic candidates in Munich, including Newsom, Sens. Ruben Gallego (D-AZ) and Mark Kelly (D-AZ), Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY), and Gov. Gretchen Whitmer (D-MI). 

NANCY PELOSI TALKS UP NEWSOM FOR 2028 PRESIDENCY

Throughout the conference, many of these Democratic lawmakers were questioned about their 2028 presidential prospects. 

Some possible candidates, such as Ocasio-Cortez, dodged the question, while others, including Newsom and Kelly, revealed they were considering it.