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Allies of progressive US Rep. Ro Khanna are hoping he can ride Tuesday night's blue tsunami all the way to the White House in 2028.
Former Rep. Jamaal Bowman (D-NY) and progressive activist Nomiki Konst announced Thursday that they'd formed a new group, "Run Ro," urging Khanna (D-Calif.) to become the first Democrat to formally declare his presidential candidacy.
Following Election Day victories by Democrats like Abdul El-Sayed in Michigan, Troy Jackson in Maine, and other champions of left-wing populist economic policy across the country, they feel Khanna—a supporter of Medicare for All and leader of efforts to block President Donald Trump's wars—must strike while the iron is hot and set a progressive tone for 2028.
“By launching now, we are trying to ensure that the presidential primary debate is framed from a progressive populist perspective," Konst said.
Khanna has openly mulled a bid for the presidency for months. Although he is not involved with the "Run Ro" effort, he told MS NOW Thursday night he was "honored that people are encouraging me to run on a platform of Medicare for All, ending foreign wars and taxing the billionaires," and acknowledged that he was "thinking about it."
Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.) speaks alongside Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) and Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) during a news conference on the Epstein Files Transparency Act at the US Capitol in Washington, DC, on November 18, 2025. (Photo by Daniel Heuer/AFP via Getty Images)
Khanna has spent Trump's second term establishing himself as one of the most visible faces of resistance to the president, through frequent appearances on cable news and his actions on Capitol Hill.
With the libertarian Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) as an unlikely ally, he spearheaded a bipartisan push last year to force the US Department of Justice to release the files related to the late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, an effort that intensified scrutiny of Epstein's relationship with the president. Khanna also coined the term "Epstein class" to describe the wealthy and powerful people shielded from accountability.
He's also been at the forefront of a growing anti-interventionist movement in Congress, leading efforts to halt Trump's war in Iran and pushing to cut off military support to Israel amid the genocide in Gaza. Earlier this year, Khanna made international headlines when he was detained in the West Bank by armed Israeli settlers while visiting Palestinian communities affected by Israel's occupation and escalating settler terrorism.
"My view is that whoever runs needs to first have absolute clarity on not being a uni-party on war," Khanna told the Breaking Points podcast on Thursday.
Khanna was among the first to back some of the progressive candidates who took on establishment Democrats in the 2026 cycle—including El-Sayed, Sen.-elect Peggy Flanagan (D-Minn.), and Reps.-elect Chris Rabb (D-Pa.), Adam Hamawy (D-NJ), and Claire Valdez (D-NY). Over the course of the midterms, he endorsed over 70 candidates, campaigning in person with many of them.
"Ro Khanna has shown the work ethic, the humility, and the vision that we need in this moment," said Bowman, who was ousted from his seat in New York in 2024 after a multimillion-dollar push by the pro-Israel lobby. “Now is not the time to wait for progress. With the wind at our backs after the midterms, we need a leader who puts everything on the line to fight for a better vision of America. That’s Ro Khanna."
US Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.) speaks as Writers Guild of America (WGA) and SAG-AFTRA members picket during strikes over contract negotiations at Netflix and Warner Bros. Discovery offices in New York on August 17, 2023. (Photo by Kena Betancur/VIEWpress via Getty Images)
If he chooses to run, Khanna would be stepping into an ideologically divided and potentially messy Democratic primary that could include other candidates from his progressive wing, such as Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY), who has also publicly hinted at a run.
Khanna said earlier this week that he embraces the idea of the 2028 primary being an "open clash of ideas.” Beyond fights over single-payer health insurance and the country's relationship with Israel, Khanna's positions could put him at odds with many of his likely opponents.
He has clashed with California Gov. Gavin Newsom, who joined the state's billionaire-led effort to kill a 5% wealth tax that would have funded healthcare programs in the state. His call for a pause on artificial intelligence development, meanwhile, goes further than the more limited oversight proposed by those like Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro.
Khanna and Ocasio-Cortez share many of the same priorities—Medicare for All, a Green New Deal, and raising taxes on billionaires—but they are also not in lockstep on everything. While the Bronx congresswoman proudly identifies as a "democratic socialist," Khanna describes himself as a proponent of "progressive capitalism." He has also been critical of past positions she has embraced, like defunding police.
Konst has said it's critical for those seeking to take the progressive lane to begin making their case early and not give the establishment room to take control.
“The centrists organize and strategize early,” she said. “They have their donors, corporate consultants, and leaders lined up for years. Building off the lessons of past primaries, our goal is to channel the progressive energy into a vessel for organizing and spreading our winning message early, as we can’t wait for the politics to line up.”
Responding to a political climate of widespread anger at both parties, Khanna has emphasized that he wants to represent "a new politics in this country" and help turn Democrats into "a new party."
“We need America’s Next New Deal," he said on Thursday. "Whether I run or support someone else is something I will decide with my family after the holidays.”
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Allies of progressive US Rep. Ro Khanna are hoping he can ride Tuesday night's blue tsunami all the way to the White House in 2028.
Former Rep. Jamaal Bowman (D-NY) and progressive activist Nomiki Konst announced Thursday that they'd formed a new group, "Run Ro," urging Khanna (D-Calif.) to become the first Democrat to formally declare his presidential candidacy.
Following Election Day victories by Democrats like Abdul El-Sayed in Michigan, Troy Jackson in Maine, and other champions of left-wing populist economic policy across the country, they feel Khanna—a supporter of Medicare for All and leader of efforts to block President Donald Trump's wars—must strike while the iron is hot and set a progressive tone for 2028.
“By launching now, we are trying to ensure that the presidential primary debate is framed from a progressive populist perspective," Konst said.
Khanna has openly mulled a bid for the presidency for months. Although he is not involved with the "Run Ro" effort, he told MS NOW Thursday night he was "honored that people are encouraging me to run on a platform of Medicare for All, ending foreign wars and taxing the billionaires," and acknowledged that he was "thinking about it."
Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.) speaks alongside Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) and Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) during a news conference on the Epstein Files Transparency Act at the US Capitol in Washington, DC, on November 18, 2025. (Photo by Daniel Heuer/AFP via Getty Images)
Khanna has spent Trump's second term establishing himself as one of the most visible faces of resistance to the president, through frequent appearances on cable news and his actions on Capitol Hill.
With the libertarian Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) as an unlikely ally, he spearheaded a bipartisan push last year to force the US Department of Justice to release the files related to the late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, an effort that intensified scrutiny of Epstein's relationship with the president. Khanna also coined the term "Epstein class" to describe the wealthy and powerful people shielded from accountability.
He's also been at the forefront of a growing anti-interventionist movement in Congress, leading efforts to halt Trump's war in Iran and pushing to cut off military support to Israel amid the genocide in Gaza. Earlier this year, Khanna made international headlines when he was detained in the West Bank by armed Israeli settlers while visiting Palestinian communities affected by Israel's occupation and escalating settler terrorism.
"My view is that whoever runs needs to first have absolute clarity on not being a uni-party on war," Khanna told the Breaking Points podcast on Thursday.
Khanna was among the first to back some of the progressive candidates who took on establishment Democrats in the 2026 cycle—including El-Sayed, Sen.-elect Peggy Flanagan (D-Minn.), and Reps.-elect Chris Rabb (D-Pa.), Adam Hamawy (D-NJ), and Claire Valdez (D-NY). Over the course of the midterms, he endorsed over 70 candidates, campaigning in person with many of them.
"Ro Khanna has shown the work ethic, the humility, and the vision that we need in this moment," said Bowman, who was ousted from his seat in New York in 2024 after a multimillion-dollar push by the pro-Israel lobby. “Now is not the time to wait for progress. With the wind at our backs after the midterms, we need a leader who puts everything on the line to fight for a better vision of America. That’s Ro Khanna."
US Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.) speaks as Writers Guild of America (WGA) and SAG-AFTRA members picket during strikes over contract negotiations at Netflix and Warner Bros. Discovery offices in New York on August 17, 2023. (Photo by Kena Betancur/VIEWpress via Getty Images)
If he chooses to run, Khanna would be stepping into an ideologically divided and potentially messy Democratic primary that could include other candidates from his progressive wing, such as Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY), who has also publicly hinted at a run.
Khanna said earlier this week that he embraces the idea of the 2028 primary being an "open clash of ideas.” Beyond fights over single-payer health insurance and the country's relationship with Israel, Khanna's positions could put him at odds with many of his likely opponents.
He has clashed with California Gov. Gavin Newsom, who joined the state's billionaire-led effort to kill a 5% wealth tax that would have funded healthcare programs in the state. His call for a pause on artificial intelligence development, meanwhile, goes further than the more limited oversight proposed by those like Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro.
Khanna and Ocasio-Cortez share many of the same priorities—Medicare for All, a Green New Deal, and raising taxes on billionaires—but they are also not in lockstep on everything. While the Bronx congresswoman proudly identifies as a "democratic socialist," Khanna describes himself as a proponent of "progressive capitalism." He has also been critical of past positions she has embraced, like defunding police.
Konst has said it's critical for those seeking to take the progressive lane to begin making their case early and not give the establishment room to take control.
“The centrists organize and strategize early,” she said. “They have their donors, corporate consultants, and leaders lined up for years. Building off the lessons of past primaries, our goal is to channel the progressive energy into a vessel for organizing and spreading our winning message early, as we can’t wait for the politics to line up.”
Responding to a political climate of widespread anger at both parties, Khanna has emphasized that he wants to represent "a new politics in this country" and help turn Democrats into "a new party."
“We need America’s Next New Deal," he said on Thursday. "Whether I run or support someone else is something I will decide with my family after the holidays.”
Allies of progressive US Rep. Ro Khanna are hoping he can ride Tuesday night's blue tsunami all the way to the White House in 2028.
Former Rep. Jamaal Bowman (D-NY) and progressive activist Nomiki Konst announced Thursday that they'd formed a new group, "Run Ro," urging Khanna (D-Calif.) to become the first Democrat to formally declare his presidential candidacy.
Following Election Day victories by Democrats like Abdul El-Sayed in Michigan, Troy Jackson in Maine, and other champions of left-wing populist economic policy across the country, they feel Khanna—a supporter of Medicare for All and leader of efforts to block President Donald Trump's wars—must strike while the iron is hot and set a progressive tone for 2028.
“By launching now, we are trying to ensure that the presidential primary debate is framed from a progressive populist perspective," Konst said.
Khanna has openly mulled a bid for the presidency for months. Although he is not involved with the "Run Ro" effort, he told MS NOW Thursday night he was "honored that people are encouraging me to run on a platform of Medicare for All, ending foreign wars and taxing the billionaires," and acknowledged that he was "thinking about it."
Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.) speaks alongside Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) and Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) during a news conference on the Epstein Files Transparency Act at the US Capitol in Washington, DC, on November 18, 2025. (Photo by Daniel Heuer/AFP via Getty Images)
Khanna has spent Trump's second term establishing himself as one of the most visible faces of resistance to the president, through frequent appearances on cable news and his actions on Capitol Hill.
With the libertarian Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) as an unlikely ally, he spearheaded a bipartisan push last year to force the US Department of Justice to release the files related to the late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, an effort that intensified scrutiny of Epstein's relationship with the president. Khanna also coined the term "Epstein class" to describe the wealthy and powerful people shielded from accountability.
He's also been at the forefront of a growing anti-interventionist movement in Congress, leading efforts to halt Trump's war in Iran and pushing to cut off military support to Israel amid the genocide in Gaza. Earlier this year, Khanna made international headlines when he was detained in the West Bank by armed Israeli settlers while visiting Palestinian communities affected by Israel's occupation and escalating settler terrorism.
"My view is that whoever runs needs to first have absolute clarity on not being a uni-party on war," Khanna told the Breaking Points podcast on Thursday.
Khanna was among the first to back some of the progressive candidates who took on establishment Democrats in the 2026 cycle—including El-Sayed, Sen.-elect Peggy Flanagan (D-Minn.), and Reps.-elect Chris Rabb (D-Pa.), Adam Hamawy (D-NJ), and Claire Valdez (D-NY). Over the course of the midterms, he endorsed over 70 candidates, campaigning in person with many of them.
"Ro Khanna has shown the work ethic, the humility, and the vision that we need in this moment," said Bowman, who was ousted from his seat in New York in 2024 after a multimillion-dollar push by the pro-Israel lobby. “Now is not the time to wait for progress. With the wind at our backs after the midterms, we need a leader who puts everything on the line to fight for a better vision of America. That’s Ro Khanna."
US Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.) speaks as Writers Guild of America (WGA) and SAG-AFTRA members picket during strikes over contract negotiations at Netflix and Warner Bros. Discovery offices in New York on August 17, 2023. (Photo by Kena Betancur/VIEWpress via Getty Images)
If he chooses to run, Khanna would be stepping into an ideologically divided and potentially messy Democratic primary that could include other candidates from his progressive wing, such as Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY), who has also publicly hinted at a run.
Khanna said earlier this week that he embraces the idea of the 2028 primary being an "open clash of ideas.” Beyond fights over single-payer health insurance and the country's relationship with Israel, Khanna's positions could put him at odds with many of his likely opponents.
He has clashed with California Gov. Gavin Newsom, who joined the state's billionaire-led effort to kill a 5% wealth tax that would have funded healthcare programs in the state. His call for a pause on artificial intelligence development, meanwhile, goes further than the more limited oversight proposed by those like Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro.
Khanna and Ocasio-Cortez share many of the same priorities—Medicare for All, a Green New Deal, and raising taxes on billionaires—but they are also not in lockstep on everything. While the Bronx congresswoman proudly identifies as a "democratic socialist," Khanna describes himself as a proponent of "progressive capitalism." He has also been critical of past positions she has embraced, like defunding police.
Konst has said it's critical for those seeking to take the progressive lane to begin making their case early and not give the establishment room to take control.
“The centrists organize and strategize early,” she said. “They have their donors, corporate consultants, and leaders lined up for years. Building off the lessons of past primaries, our goal is to channel the progressive energy into a vessel for organizing and spreading our winning message early, as we can’t wait for the politics to line up.”
Responding to a political climate of widespread anger at both parties, Khanna has emphasized that he wants to represent "a new politics in this country" and help turn Democrats into "a new party."
“We need America’s Next New Deal," he said on Thursday. "Whether I run or support someone else is something I will decide with my family after the holidays.”