The wink-and-nod primary is on

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Sep 23, 2026 View in browser   By Irie Sentner Presented by  THE CATCH-UP Dawn Moore, Gov. Wes Moore, Gov. Andy Beshear and Britainy Beshear attend the Time100 Next event at Current at Chelsea Piers on Wednesday, Oct. 9, 2024, in New York. | AP/Evan Agostini Two Democratic governors walked into an auditorium in Washington last night. They basked in the presidential speculation that followed them inside. Andy Beshear of Kentucky and Wes Moore of Maryland appeared on stage together for what was ostensibly a discussion about Beshear’s new book on his faith. But the event quickly took on a more presidential sheen as they volleyed their potential ambitions back and forth. They’re part of a growing group of Democrats who, riding the party’s strength heading into the midterms (and using those races as reason to travel to key states across the country), are increasingly winking and nodding toward their White House dreams. As the dust settled on Democrats’ crushing losses in 2024, the party’s presidential bench had a seemingly stock answer when asked about their future ambitions: They were wholly focused on winning back the House and Senate in 2026. Those elections are now less than six weeks away — and many of the same Democrats are starting to turn attention toward 2028 as both parties prepare for open primaries for the first time in a decade. “I walked off the stage in 2023 after reelection, looked at my wife and said, ‘Whoo! I’ll never have to run for anything ever again.’ Sitting here today, I’m not sure that’s true,” Beshear said at one point last night, drawing a standing ovation from the sold-out crowd. He noted that it wasn’t “any type of announcement, because that would require me to fill out paperwork.” “Listen, we might have a lot of great candidates,” Beshear continued, gesturing toward Moore — prompting claps and cheers from the audience. “What’s important to me is that we get this right.” At another point, Moore told Beshear he would “be a crucial part of putting this country back together.” “Based on the time we’ve been here tonight, I think we’d make a pretty good team,” Beshear responded. The audience whooped and whistled for nearly 20 seconds.   A message from Anthropic: How SoFlo Solar runs their business with help from Claude Luis Galarza and Laura Gutierrez founded SoFlo Solar to restore solar power for homeowners left with broken systems after installers went out of business. Claude helps them diagnose equipment across manufacturers, translate for crews, and log every job. Learn more   The comments follow a trend among the Dems, many of whom are increasingly flirting with the idea of running. California Gov. Gavin Newsom recently piled more pressure on Kamala Harris’ 2028 decision. New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez in an unusually candid NYT interview this week said she was crunching the mental math. On a podcast last month, former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said he was “more inclined than not” to run for president. Then there’s those like Rahm Emanuel, Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker, Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro, Sens. Mark Kelly (Ariz.), Ruben Gallego (Ariz.), Cory Booker (N.J.), Chris Van Hollen (Md.) and Elissa Slotkin (Mich.), Rep. Ro Khanna (Calif.), Mitch Landrieu and others, who have admitted they’re either considering bids, or declined to rule out a run. Beshear, a battle-tested Democrat leading a red state, first flirted with the prospect in May of 2025. Last night, in response to a question from Playbook, the Kentucky governor said he hadn’t made a “final decision” and would do so sometime after his term as DGA chair is up in December. “The question will be: Am I a person in this moment that could not only win, but heal some of the divisions of this country to move us not right or left but forward, and to help reignite that American dream that has made this country so exceptional?” he said. Moore, however, has been more forceful in the past, telling reporters and constituents at various points since last year that he’s “not running” for president. He’s currently seeking a second term in the Maryland governor’s mansion. But he’s dipping his toes into the water. Earlier this month, he suggested: “I am going to be part of a bigger conversation going forward.” Asked by Playbook last night about his presidential ambitions, Moore said he’s still “focused on the fact that in 41 days, when I wake up, I’m on the ballot.” In 42 days, Moore said he plans on sleeping. So when might the public expect to know whether he’ll reverse his past position and seek the presidency? “I have honestly not put any thought about a decision timeline,” he said. Good Wednesday afternoon. This is Irie Sentner. Thanks for reading Playbook PM. Drop me a line at isentner@politico.com. 8 THINGS YOU NEED TO KNOW 1. NOT MINCING WORDS: About 24 hours after Trump threatened to “annihilate” Iran during his address to the U.N. General Assembly, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian today accused the U.S. and Israel of “terrorism” and called for a deal without continued violence. “It must be understood by Mr. Trump and those who seek to bully us that we are ready for dialogue and diplomacy and negotiations without accepting the language of force,” Pezeshkian said in his speech at UNGA. Trump, he continued, “must know that the resistance of the Iranian people will only increase in the face of sanctions, increased pressure, increased bullying. We will never bow our head or bend at the knee.” More from POLITICO’s Nahal Toosi 2. TRUCKING ALONG: “White House preparing plan for 90-day diesel exports ban,” by POLITICO’s Ben Lefebvre and colleagues: “A ban, the legal process of which is still being worked out, has created splits inside the administration and with the oil industry, which has warned that any short-term benefit would be outweighed by higher fuel prices in the future. … But the war that the Trump administration launched against Iran in February, as well as Ukraine’s attacks against Russian refineries, have boosted diesel prices to record highs and caused farm-state Republicans to demand the ban.” 3. CROWDSOURCING: “Board of Peace asks partners for Gaza funding for $2.45 billion recovery plan,” by POLITICO’s Sophia Cai: “Steve Witkoff, the U.S. special envoy, described the effort Wednesday at the United Nations as a difficult undertaking requiring continued cooperation. … Donors could channel support through the board and the new fund for Palestinian projects. … The plan includes 66 projects across infrastructure, human development, economic development, digital transformation, legal affairs and peace and security.”   Introducing Decoded by POLITICO Technology is reshaping politics, business and global power. Decoded brings together reporting from across POLITICO’s newsroom to help you understand the policy fights, market shifts and key players driving what comes next. Sign up for Decoded.     4. BRAVE NEW WORLD: A group of 17 Democratic senators are calling on Trump to make a deal with Chinese President Xi Jinping to agree to mutually slow or pause AI development amid ballooning safety concerns, POLITICO’s Katherine Long scoops. Trump, who’s welcoming Xi to Washington later today, has repeatedly called the dire warnings over AI development a “hoax” and said yesterday at UNGA that “we're leading now over China by a lot, and everyone else, and we're going to keep it that way.” On the Hill: Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and Rep. Greg Casar (D-Texas) are unveiling legislation today that would ban artificial superintelligence, create a federal AI oversight agency and pause advanced AI development until guidelines are implemented, AP’s Joey Cappelletti reports. It faces long odds of advancing. 5. BIG BEAUTIFUL BLUNDER? “One Big Beautiful Bill Is Starting to Bite Before the Election,” by NYT’s Audra D. S. Burch: “Some praise larger tax refunds and tax breaks that allowed them to take home more money earned from tips and overtime. But at a moment when the cost of living is rising faster than wages, many say the law has plunged Americans into financial uncertainty with the law’s cuts to programs that helped put food on the table and provide affordable health care.” 6. CHINA WATCH: Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) and three other Republican senators are urging Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth to release $1.3 billion in military aid to Taiwan and quickly approve a stalled $14 billion weapons package, The Washington Sun’s Joe Gould reports. Their letter comes ahead of a Trump-Xi summit during which the Chinese leader is expected to press the president to curb U.S. arms sales to Taiwan. 7. IF HE GETS THE GAVEL: “Mike Lee could soon be in position to grant Trump a big Senate wish,” by POLITICO’s Jordain Carney and Chris Marquette: “Utah Sen. Mike Lee is poised to chair the Judiciary Committee should Republicans manage to keep control of the Senate in the midterms. That would give the MAGA stalwart the power to decide the fate of the ‘blue slip,’ which lets senators block any home-state district court judge, federal marshal or U.S. attorney nomination they oppose. … The decision risks pitting Lee against his Senate GOP colleagues, many of whom support the status quo. It also all but guarantees a public pressure campaign from Trump, with whom Lee has worked to ingratiate himself over the past two years.” 8. TALES FROM THE CRYPTO: The crypto industry, still reeling from Senate Democrats’ unanimous vote last week to kill the CLARITY Act, must now decide just how hard it wants to hit back, POLITICO’s Jasper Goodman reports. “Some crypto executives have publicly signaled an appetite in recent days for punishing Democrats. But a partisan strategy carries major political risk for the industry: A broad offensive against Democrats ahead of an election where they have a chance to reclaim power on Capitol Hill could further alienate lawmakers the industry may soon need to revive its agenda.”   A message from Anthropic: Claude helps diagnose equipment, translate for crews, and log every job. Learn more   TALK OF THE TOWN WHAT’S IN A NAME — As President Donald Trump pushes to add his name to the Kennedy Center, officials in his administration are circulating a list of additional government sites the president could add his name to, including Ford’s Theatre, MS NOW’s Brian Bennett and colleagues report. “White House officials, advisers and allies pitch ideas such as naming buildings after Trump to get on the president’s good side, a former administration official told MS NOW, granted anonymity to discuss internal matters.’” White House spokesperson Davis Ingle called the reporting “completely false” and a spokesperson for the Interior Department, which owns the theater, said it was “not true.” NO RED TAPE — “‘I am the code’: Trump clashed with ballroom architect over safety issues,” by WaPo’s Sarah Blaskey and Jonathan O'Connell: “In the weeks leading up to his resignation last year, the first architect on the White House ballroom clashed with President Donald Trump over design features that the architect believed violated building safety codes, according to two people with knowledge of the discussions and corroborating documents reviewed by The Washington Post. … Trump brushed off [architect James] McCrery’s concerns, they said, and the president countered that no building codes apply to White House construction. ‘I am the code,’ Trump said.”   Sponsored Survey WE WANT TO HEAR FROM YOU: Please take a 1-minute survey about one of our advertising partners.   OUT AND ABOUT — Apple hosted an evening reception last night at the Invariant townhouse where guests got hands-on demos of the company’s latest products and Apple previewed its forthcoming redesigned Health app. SPOTTED: Rep. Wesley Bell (D-Mo.), Giulia DiGuglielmo, Bo Morris, Mitchell Rivard, Anneliese Slamowitz, Johanna Rose Thomas, Robert Edmonson, Michael O’Neill, Rafaello Carone, Aaron Hiller, Rob Wagener, Annaliese Yukawa, Elizabeth Adkins, Tres Bernhard, Shane Tews, Adam Kovacevich, Matt Schruers and Julia Massimino. TRANSITIONS — Annie Newman is joining The Messina Group as VP for creator strategy and will launch its creator strategy practice. Newman previously worked for Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro. … Jessica Donlon has joined Cooley as a partner. She most recently worked for the House Energy and Commerce Committee and is a House Oversight and OMB alum. … Julie McDowell is now director of comms at the Community Oncology Alliance. She previously worked at the College of American Pathologists. Did someone forward this email to you? Sign up here. Send Playbookers tips to playbook@politico.com or text us on Signal here. 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