Actor George Clooney named three Democrats he is watching for 2028, but early national numbers show his shortlist lagging far behind other party names after last year’s loss.
Clooney spoke at The Future of Creativity event in Venice in September and singled out Georgia Sen. Jon Ossoff, Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker, and Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear as figures drawing his attention ahead of the next presidential cycle.
The Hollywood star and longtime Democratic fundraiser said he has not settled on anyone and will wait until after the November 3 midterms before making an endorsement. He also ruled out a run of his own.
Newsweek reported the remarks and stacked them against current polling averages, state races, and prediction-market odds for the 2028 Democratic nomination.
Clooney framed the moment as a search for fresh leadership.
"I think we're all very excited by this young senator from Georgia, Jon Ossoff. I am 65 years old, and I think that we need some young voices that are coming up with new ideas and some new thoughts."
Ossoff is 39. Pritzker and Beshear are sitting governors. All three sit well outside the top tier of early national Democratic polling.
Clooney is not a new player in Democratic succession fights. In July 2024 he published a New York Times opinion essay urging President Joe Biden to end his reelection bid after a poor debate performance against Donald Trump. Biden withdrew later that month and endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris. Harris became the nominee and lost.
Now the same actor is scanning the bench again. RealClearPolling’s national average of surveys from July 19 through September 28 still put Harris first at 26.3 percent. California Gov. Gavin Newsom followed at 14.3 percent. Former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg stood at 12.6 percent. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez registered 10 percent.
Ossoff sat at 8.8 percent. Beshear held 4 percent. Pritzker came in at 3.2 percent.
A Harvard-Harris poll conducted September 26-28 showed Harris at 38 percent, Ossoff at 6 percent, and Pritzker at 5 percent. An Echelon Insights survey from September 17-21 had Ossoff at 8 percent with Beshear and Pritzker each at 2 percent. A July Emerson poll had given Ossoff 13 percent and Beshear 7 percent.
Clooney’s preferred names remain single-digit options in the very averages Democrats are watching.
Polymarket odds as of October 4 told a similar story with a different leader. Ocasio-Cortez led at about 17 percent. Newsom followed at 16 percent. Ossoff reached 15 percent. Harris stood at 7 percent. Shapiro registered 6 percent. Buttigieg held 5 percent. Beshear sat at 3 percent. Pritzker trailed at roughly 1 percent.
The market price for Clooney’s Illinois and Kentucky favorites barely moved the needle. Ossoff’s market share outran his RealClearPolling average, yet he still trailed the progressive congresswoman and the California governor most often treated as the establishment alternative.
Democrats lost the White House in 2024. Early 2028 shopping has already produced a split between celebrity taste, national survey averages, and betting markets.
Ossoff’s strongest numbers are in Georgia, not in a national primary field. He first won his Senate seat in a January 2021 runoff by a narrow margin over Republican David Perdue. He now seeks another term on November 3 against Republican Rep. Mike Collins.
RealClearPolling’s Georgia Senate average showed Ossoff at 51.1 percent to Collins’s 43.1 percent, an eight-point edge. September polls in the state put the Democrat ahead by margins ranging from four to 10 points. A Big Data Poll of 678 likely Georgia voters conducted September 21-23 had Ossoff at 55 percent and Collins at 45 percent.
An August Emerson College survey tested hypothetical 2028 general-election matchups and showed Ossoff leading Vice President JD Vance 49 percent to 44 percent and leading Secretary of State Marco Rubio 47 percent to 44 percent. Those are trial heats, not a nomination contest. They do show why Clooney called the Georgia senator a young voice worth watching.
National Democratic primary numbers still leave Ossoff well behind Harris, Newsom, Buttigieg, and Ocasio-Cortez in the RealClearPolling average that covers mid-summer through late September.
Pritzker is seeking another term as Illinois governor on the same November 3 ballot. He beat Republican Darren Bailey by double digits in 2022. A Victory Research survey of 1,200 likely Illinois voters in November 2025 showed Pritzker ahead of Bailey again, 54 percent to 34 percent.
That home-state cushion has not translated into a national presidential lane. Pritzker’s 3.2 percent in the RealClearPolling nomination average and roughly 1 percent Polymarket share leave him near the back of the early field Clooney said he likes.
Deep-blue Illinois can reelect a wealthy Democratic governor without telling the rest of the country he is ready for a presidential primary.
Beshear is not on the ballot this November. He won reelection in 2023 and is serving his current term as Kentucky governor in a Republican-leaning state. Clooney listed him among the Democrats he likes.
Beshear has previously told Newsweek he believes the next president should be a Democratic governor, arguing that governors bring the executive experience the White House demands. A September Big Data Poll figure cited in the same reporting put him at 4 percent nationally, matching his RealClearPolling average and sitting near his 3 percent Polymarket odds.
The executive-experience pitch is clear. The early voter and market data are not moving with it.
Clooney’s public posture is patience. He wants to see how Ossoff and Pritzker perform on November 3 before locking in support. Ossoff is defending a Senate seat in a state that decides control questions. Pritzker is running again in Illinois. Beshear sits out this cycle and keeps governing Kentucky.
Newsweek contacted representatives for Clooney, Ossoff, Pritzker, and Beshear for comment as part of its reporting.
The larger Democratic picture remains unsettled. Harris still posts the strongest national survey average in the July-to-September RealClearPolling window. Newsom and Buttigieg occupy the next tier. Ocasio-Cortez leads the October 4 Polymarket board. Clooney’s three names cluster lower, with Ossoff the only one periodically cracking double digits in individual surveys or market share.
A major Democratic donor and celebrity messenger is shopping for “young voices” and new ideas. The early scoreboard shows the party’s voters and bettors still sorting among the better-known brands from the last cycle and the progressive left.
Hollywood can float a shortlist. Primary voters and prediction markets still set the price.
