Rahm Emanuel is trying to carve a lane for himself in what is expected to be a crowded 2028 Democratic presidential primary field by starting to campaign early and announcing policy positions.
But he’s taking it further on Friday by taking the bicycle lane around New Hampshire as part of a three-day tour of the early voting state.
Emanuel is raising money for a New Hampshire nonprofit organization that provides bicycles to underprivileged children, in addition to raising his profile. He’s also attending a Democratic Party event in North Hampton before mounting his bike for the tour.
Emanuel’s shadow campaign is calling the Portsmouth to Hanover trip the “Spin-Free Tour,” with the former Clinton White House aide, Illinois congressman, Obama White House chief of staff, Chicago mayor, and U.S. ambassador to Japan holding “community meetings” along the way.
But spin aside, the tour comes as Emanuel tries to differentiate himself from other Democrats considering a run for their party’s presidential nomination. Part of that is an attempt to brand himself as the candidate of policy positions, including last week’s announcement of “grand bargain” on education reform.
Emanuel has also written a plethora of opinion pieces, including one in March explaining his national security policy platform and another in May calling for military reform.
A source familiar with Emanuel told the Washington Examiner the former mayor “feels very strongly that we have an education emergency, and no one is talking about how to solve it.”
“The national conversation is so badly warped by Trump and Beltway politics,” the source said. “So from a policy perspective, everything flows from that, and he wants to focus on policies and ideas.”
Although a policy-driven campaign did not help Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) in her 2020 Democratic primary campaign, Emanuel’s approach has been welcomed by some Democrats wanting the party’s message to be more than just anti-Trump rhetoric.
“Americans are pessimistic about the future and are hungry for real solutions,” said Colin Seeberger, a senior adviser at the Center for American Progress.
New Hampshire Institute of Politics Director Neil Levesque told the Washington Examiner that Emanuel’s bike trip comes as the former Chicago mayor has the 2028 stage mostly to himself.
“The bike trip is another opportunity to be placing himself in front of voters in a way that creates connection and attention without a typical podium speech,” Levesque said.
Emanuel is not the first presidential candidate to take a different mode of transport around New Hampshire, with University of New Hampshire politics professor Dante Scala remembering how former Tennessee Republican Sen. Lamar Alexander once hiked around the Granite State in 1996.
But for Scala, Emanuel is embarking on his trip far too early for New Hampshire voters to care.
“You would be hard pressed to find activists who care much at this point,” Scala told the Washington Examiner. “They’re focused more on the midterms.”
To that end, despite his best attempts, Emanuel is not putting a dent in early hypothetical 2028 Democratic primary polls.
According to polling aggregator RealClearPolitics, former Vice President Kamala Harris has an early, likely name identification-driven edge, leading what is anticipated to be a large group of Democratic presidential candidates with an average of 27% support.
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Gov. Gavin Newsom (D-CA) has an average of 18% support, former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg has 13%, and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) has 12%.
Other potential candidates are only polling in single digits a good 18 months before the first votes will be cast.