Abby Trivett
The 2028 presidential election may seem far away, but the battle for who could occupy the White House next is already taking shape. And for Christians, there may be far more worth watching than political polls alone.
Former Vice President Kamala Harris and California Gov. Gavin Newsom are emerging as two of the most recognizable potential contenders for the 2028 Democratic presidential nomination.
According to Newsweek, Harris currently holds an advantage in several early national polls, though the numbers fluctuate significantly. Newsom has emerged as one of her most serious potential challengers, while Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez has also gained attention as a possible contender.
But while America is watching the numbers, something else is happening that believers should not overlook.
Newsom recently traveled to Michigan to campaign for Democratic candidates and appeared Sunday at Fellowship Chapel in Detroit.
According to The Midwesterner, the California governor used the church platform to deliver an unmistakably political message against President Donald Trump while simultaneously drawing upon Scripture and Christian language.
“I don’t want to get political, reverend, but we have an invasive species in the White House,” Newsom said.
Newsom went on to accuse Trump and Republicans of attempting to bring America back to a “pre-1960s world,” later declaring, “Anti-woke is nothing more than anti-Black. We know that,” The Midwesterner reported.
He then invoked Isaiah and encouraged the congregation to embrace the “Spirit of Isaiah” and become “repairers of the breach.”
However, Newsom isn’t the only potential 2028 contender whose rise has generated deeper spiritual questions.
The No. 1 New York Times bestselling author Jonathan Cahn has pointed to what he calls the “avatar mystery” surrounding Kamala Harris, arguing that there are spiritual patterns behind political and cultural movements that Christians cannot afford to ignore.
“We war not against flesh and blood,” Cahn said. “We war against spirits, principalities, rulers.”
Cahn has specifically examined Harris’ name and background through the lens of ancient pagan culture. “Kamala is the name of an ancient pagan goddess,” he said, while noting that Harris’ middle name, Devi, means “goddess.”
“This is not about a person,” he continued. “We got to pray for all people. We have no enemies, but we got to recognize the signs of the times.”
Perhaps that is exactly what Christians need to remember as another presidential cycle begins to emerge.
Politics will tell us to watch the polls. Campaigns will tell us to choose a personality. The media will tell us who is rising and who is falling.
But Scripture tells us something much deeper is always happening beyond what human eyes can see.
The church cannot afford to become so captivated by political personalities that it loses its spiritual discernment. Christians must pray, test what they hear against Scripture and recognize that America’s deepest battles will never be solved at the ballot box alone.
As Cahn put it, “The problem is ultimately spiritual.”
And if the battle is spiritual, our response must be spiritual as well.
