Several political figures on both sides of the aisle increased their profile in 2024 and are primed to become key voices in their respective parties in 2025 and beyond.
Democrats suffered a major blow in 2024, in a year that saw President Biden bow out of the political race and be replaced by VP Kamala Harris and Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, who lost both the Electoral College and popular vote in November. Going forward, several Democrats are expected to fill that leadership void heading into the midterms.’
Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro
Shapiro was widely considered to be the strongest vice presidential candidate to join the Harris ticket this summer, and Harris received criticism for her decision to select Walz instead. Shapiro, viewed as a moderate by some, has been governor of the state since January 2023 and will face a re-election test in 2026 before any potential 2028 run.
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Rising stars in both parties are expected to emerge in 2025. (Getty Images)
Pennsylvania’s 19 electoral votes make it a key state in presidential elections, making Shapiro’s position as governor of that state an appealing attribute for any presidential candidate.
“Probably the biggest winner on election night,” Mike Manzo of Triad Strategies told ABC 27 last month. “If 2026 turns out to be a bad midterm for the Republicans, (Shapiro’s) sitting on the top of the ticket for in Pennsylvania. You know, so if he runs away with that the following January, he’s in Iowa.”
House Rep. Pat Ryan
Ryan, who represents New York’s 18th Congressional District, was considered one of the most vulnerable incumbents heading into the November election but defeated his Republican challenger by 14 points in a swing district.
Since the election, Ryan has been one of the most outspoken Democrats on the subject of what went wrong for his party in November.
“First and foremost, if you’re using the words ‘moderate’ or ‘progressive’ you’re missing the whole f***ing point,” Ryan wrote on X. “It’s not ideological. It’s about who fights for the people vs. who further empowers and enables the elites.”
“Most importantly, I told folks exactly who it was that was ripping them off, and I grounded it locally. It’s the billionaires and big corporations making record-breaking profits while the rest of us struggle.”
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Josh Shapiro (Gilbert Carrasquillo/GC Images)
Ryan wrote, “It’s not enough to throw these seemingly disparate policies at people. We must articulate a unifying principle, and clearly tell folks who’s at fault. For me, it was Freedom. and Patriotism. And the fault lies with the same elites, in both parties, who’ve run this country for far too long.”
Senator-elect Angela Alsobrooks
Alsobrooks, who previously served as the chief executive of Prince George’s County in the suburbs of the nation’s capital, defeated popular Republican Larry Hogan by 11 points in the Maryland Senate race, becoming the first Black candidate to win a Maryland Senate race.
Alsobrooks campaigned heavily on gun control and abortion and won the clear support of women, Black and Latino voters, urban voters and college graduates over Hogan, according to AP VoteCast, a sweeping survey of more than 3,700 voters in the state. Even though Alsobrooks underperformed Vice President Harris among suburban and moderate voters, majorities backed her over Hogan in the heavily blue state.
“At times we struggle together, and we work to build a better future for all of our children,” Alsobrooks said after her victory in November. “And to those Marylanders whose support I have yet to earn, I may not have won your vote, but I want you to know that I hear your voice, and I will be your senator, too.”
Maryland Gov. Wes Moore
Maryland’s governor, Wes Moore, is also believed to be a rising voice in the Democratic Party after being elected as the state’s first Black governor in 2022.
Moore, a graduate of Johns Hopkins University and a Rhodes scholar, served as a captain in the Army before spending time as an investment banker and has labeled himself a “social moderate and strong fiscal conservative.”
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California Gov. Gavin Newsom (AP Photo/Steven Senne)
Moore’s leadership was thrust into the national spotlight this year when a container ship slammed into the Francis Scott Key Bridge in the Baltimore harbor, causing a collapse that took the lives of six construction workers.
In a post on X after the disaster, Moore said, “We are Maryland tough. We are Baltimore strong. In the face of danger, we hold out. In the face of heartbreak, we come together, and we come back stronger. That is what we’ve always done. That’s what we will continue to do.”
California Gov. Gavin Newsom
While Newsom is not a political newcomer, he is expected to be one of the top candidates to run for president on the Democrat side in 2028 after establishing himself as one of the top surrogates for Biden and Harris during the last presidential cycle.
Newsom, who has served as California governor since 2019, is term limited once his current tenure ends in January 2027.
Republicans will enter the new year with control of the White House and Congress as the party prepares for four years of Trump’s leadership, while other Republicans will rise to become leaders in the party as the attention shifts to determining which voices will shape the party in the years to come during and post-Trump’s term.
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JD Vance, R-Ohio (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
Vice President-elect JD Vance
Vance, 40, will be the presumptive frontrunner for president in 2028 given his position as Trump’s vice president and is expected to be one of the more prominent voices in the Republican Party over the next few years.
“The vice president will be in the catbird seat. No question about it,” longtime Republican consultant Dave Carney told Fox News Digital last month. Carney, a veteran of numerous Republican presidential campaigns over the past four decades, said that Vance “is the guy to beat.”
David Kochel, another longtime GOP strategist with plenty of presidential campaign experience, told Fox News that Vance is the frontrunner due to “the size and the scope of last week’s victory and the implied passing of the torch from Donald Trump.”
House Rep. Byron Donalds
Donalds, who has represented Florida’s 19th Congressional District since 2019, was a top surrogate for Trump on the campaign trail in 2024 and many believed he was on the short list of vice presidential candidates.
The Florida congressman has been an outspoken voice on cable news promoting Trump’s agenda and has also been one of the most prominent voices pushing back against the media’s attacks on Trump, often appearing on liberal networks defending the president-elect in hostile environments.
Donalds served on the Financial Services Committee and the Committee on Government Oversight and Accountability in the 118th Congress and was a member of the Congressional Blockchain Caucus, Freedom Caucus, and Republican Study Committee.
Senator-elect Bernie Moreno
Cleveland area businessman Bernie Moreno ended Dem. Sen. Sherrod Brown’s 17-year tenure in the Senate in November in a state Trump carried by 11 points.
Since being elected senator, Moreno has established himself as one of Trump’s most loyal allies and was the first freshman senator to publicly defend and support Trump’s Cabinet picks and is expected to be one of Trump’s top representatives in Congress.
Moreno, a supporter of term limits, has pledged to only serve two six-year terms in the Senate.
Representative-elect Abraham Hamadeh
Hamadeh previously served as a prosecutor and Army intelligence officer before being elected to represent Arizona’s 8th Congressional District in November.
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Vivek Ramaswamy, chair and co-founder of Strive Asset Management, center, arrives to meet with lawmakers on Capitol Hill on Dec. 5, 2024. (Al Drago)
The 33-year old, born to Syrian immigrants, has been a vocal supporter of Trump and the “Make America Great Again Agenda” and he told Fox News Digital last month that he and fellow Republicans will “hit the ground running with something very historic in the first hundred days.”
Hamadeh is set to serve on both the Veterans Affairs Committee and Armed Services Committee in the 119th Congress.
“I am honored to serve on the Veterans Affairs and Armed Services Committees—two assignments I intentionally sought because our veterans and military deserve leaders who will fight for them,” Hamadeh told Fox News Digital in a statement about his committee assignments. “Putting America first starts with defending our homeland and honoring our veterans and their families.”
“Throughout my campaign, I made a promise to bring veterans’ issues to the forefront of our national priorities, and today, I am proud to fulfill that promise. This is a ‘promises made, promises kept’ moment as I lead the charge to honor our military leaders, support those who have served our nation, and ensure our veterans receive the care and respect they’ve earned. Serving those who served us is not just my duty—it’s a privilege.”
Former presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy
Ramaswamy, a biotech entrepreneur believed to have a net worth of around $1 billion, burst onto the political scene in 2023 after throwing his hat into the 2024 presidential race before dropping out in January 2024 and quickly becoming a top surrogate for Trump’s campaign.
Ramaswamy was appointed to co-lead, along with Space X and Tesla CEO Elon Musk, the Department of Government Efficiency, which will focus its efforts on trimming federal spending when the new administration takes over in January.
The 39-year-old native of southwest Ohio has been floated as a contender to replace outgoing Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine and Ramaswamy hasn’t ruled out that possibility and has said he is open to considering it.
Fox News Digital’s Paul Steinhauser and the Associated Press contributed to this report.
