But it also provided a preview of a potential 2028 primary should Harris lose to former President Donald Trump this November.

Democratic leaders who were once considered possible successors to President Joe Biden as head of the party repeatedly united around Harris during the convention, raising their own national profiles without upstaging the vice president.

Govs. Andy Beshear (D-KY), Roy Cooper (D-NC), Wes Moore (D-MD), J.B. Pritzker (D-IL), Josh Shapiro (D-PA), and Gretchen Whitmer (D-MI), in addition to Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg and Sen. Mark Kelly (D-AZ), were all given prime-time speaking spots during which they introduced or reintroduced themselves to the public. Pritzker, the convention’s host governor, even had Illinois Democratic Party Chairwoman Lisa Hernandez introduce him during the ceremonial roll call before he cast the Prairie State’s electoral votes for Harris.

Their speeches defended a Harris presidency compared to another Trump administration, but took the opportunity, too, to amplify a little biographical information of their own.

“While many said it could take 11 months to reopen the Port of Baltimore, we got it done in 11 weeks,” Moore told the convention of this spring’s Francis Scott Key Bridge collapse. “That is the story of America.”

None of their addresses replicated former President Barack Obama’s breakout moment during his first convention remarks in 2004 in Boston, a happy coincidence for Harris as she tries to remake the Democratic Party in her image two months before the election.

Several members of her team of rivals spent convention week speaking to state delegation breakfasts, Democratic National Committee meetings, and reporters on her behalf, as well as taking photographs with fans, a maelstrom of activity in comparison to the Republican National Convention last month in Milwaukee.

Buttigieg, an opponent of Harris during the 2020 Democratic primary, appeared at the Nevada delegation breakfast on Monday as did Beshear, who was on the vice president’s short list to be her running mate.

“I look forward to joining them on the campaign trail to help in any way I can,” Beshear said during a press gaggle. “This election is critical. Kamala Harris and Tim Walz will lead us forward, not backwards.”

“We’ve never seen energy like this in any election, and in many ways, we’ve seen more history in six to eight weeks than any of us have ever seen in any election,” he added about the breakneck speed at which Democrats switched the top of the ticket after Biden stepped down and Harris replaced him. “But it’s exciting. It shows the type of energy that she creates, but also the stark contrast between the two candidates for president.” 

Shapiro, of Pennsylvania, who was similarly passed over as Harris’s vice presidential pick but remained adamant that he will work to make sure the Keystone State votes for her.

“I’m looking forward to spending a lot of time with them over the next, you know, 80 or so days, and doing everything I can in Pennsylvania and in other states to share the message,” Shapiro said.

The willingness of these governors to advocate Harris can be distinguished from Trump’s unwillingness to engage former adversaries to do the same, such as one-time U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley who has endorsed Trump but has so far avoided the campaign trail. 

Notably, Gov. Gavin Newsom (D-CA), perhaps Harris’s most significant competitor, was not assigned a prime-time speaking spot. But the California governor did nominate Harris for president during the roll call vote alongside former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA).

“It’s time for us to do the right thing. And that is to elect Kamala Harris as the next president of the United States of America,” Newsom said. “California, we proudly cast our 482 votes for the next president, Kamala Harris.”

Newsom, however, did stir controversy during a convention interview with Pod Save America, in which he seemed dissatisfied with Harris’s ascendance.

“We went through a very open process, a very inclusive process,” he said. “It was bottom-up; I don’t know if you know that. That’s what I’ve been told to say.”

Democrats dismissed speculation that Newsom’s lack of a prime-time speaking spot indicated tensions between him and Harris. 

“I think Gov. Newsom has been an acute supporter of the vice president,” Rep. Robert Garcia (D-CA) told reporters backstage at the United Center. “I think Gov. Newsom will remain a national figure. He always has been, always will. He’s the best governor in the country.” 

Delegates who spoke to the Washington Examiner praised Harris’s rivals for coalescing behind her even as they posture for their own campaigns in 2028 or 2032 depending on whether the vice president wins one or two terms. 

Michigan delegate Bobby Christian, who ran for Wayne County commissioner this year, promoted Whitmer’s presidential aspirations in an interview. 

“We were thinking in Michigan that Kamala was going to have her as her vice president, you know, so we’re in full support of Gretchen when she runs,” Christian said. “We know she has the ambition. So we’re just waiting to see.” 

Sharonda Huffman, a delegate from Baltimore County, Maryland, hopes Moore will complete his term as governor before he moves on to higher office. 

“They were just saying he’s the third black governor. I said he’ll be the third black president,” Huffman said. 

But even other Democrats have cropped up as prospective presidential candidates based on their rising star power. Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) and Jasmine Crockett (D-TX), for example, delivered well-received speeches at the convention.

“When you think about the Democratic Party, we’re the party that’s a big tent party, and we value having all voices at the table,” Nevada Democratic Party Chairwoman Daniele Monroe-Moreno said. “And yeah, what I love about our party is we have some dynamic, diverse leaders.”