INTERNACIONAL
2028 auditions for Democratic presidential nomination kick off as blue-state governor visits key early state
It’s 2025, but it’s starting to feel a little bit like 2028 in New Hampshire, the state that traditionally holds the first presidential primary in the race for the White House.
That’s because Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker, the billionaire two-term Democrat from the solidly blue Midwestern state, is coming to New Hampshire this weekend to headline the state party’s largest annual fundraising gala.
Pritzker, who has become one of his party’s most vocal critics of the sweeping and controversial moves by President Donald Trump during the first three months of his second tour in the White House, is seen as a potential contender for the Democrats’ 2028 presidential nomination.
And trips to New Hampshire — which for over a century has held the first primary in the race for the White House — are seen as an early indicator of a politician’s interest in running for the presidency in the next election.
HERE ARE THE DEMOCRATS WHO MAY EVENTUALLY RUN FOR THE WHITE HOUSE IN 2028
Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker is interviewed by Fox News Digital at a New Hampshire delegation breakfast at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago on Aug. 22, 2024. (Paul Steinhauser)
«We’ve got to be ready for the fight,» Pritzker said when asked by Fox News Digital what his message will be when he delivers the keynote address at the New Hampshire Democratic Party’s annual McIntyre-Shaheen 100 Club dinner.
The governor, a member of the Pritzker family that owns the Hyatt hotel chain and who has started several of his own venture capital and investment startups, argued that the nation is «in a constitutional crisis» and that «we have too many people who are ill affected by the policies of the Trump administration.»
«This is the moment for people to stand up and fight,» he added.
Pritzker, 60, is the first potential Democratic presidential hopeful to visit New Hampshire, or any other early primary state, since Democrats lost the White House and their Senate majority and failed to retake the House in November.
And Trump and Republicans down-ballot made gains with key parts of the Democrats’ base, including with Black, Hispanic and younger voters.
HEATING UP: PRESEASON MOVES IN 2028 PRESIDENTIAL RACE GETTING UNDERWAY
In the wake of those setbacks, Democrats have experienced increased intra-party tensions with an angry and energized base itching to fight back against Trump. That anger is directed not only at Trump and Republicans, but also at Democrats, with many in the party’s base upset that leaders haven’t been effective or vocal enough in pushing back against the president.
It’s also led to reflection about what the Democratic Party stands for and its direction moving forward amid flagging favorable ratings in national polling.
Two-term California Gov. Gavin Newsom, another high-profile Democrat who likely also has national ambitions in 2028, said earlier this week in an interview with «The Hill» that he wasn’t sure what the party truly represents.
«I don’t know what the party is,» Newsom said. «I’m still struggling with that.»
California Gov. Gavin Newsom, who was a top surrogate for Democrats during the 2024 presidential election, speaks with voters during a stop at a highway rest area in Hooksett, New Hampshire, on July 8, 2024. (Fox News – Paul Steinhauser)
Asked if he’s also struggling, Pritzker responded, «I’ve been clear my whole life. The Democratic Party stands up for working people. Stands up for working families. We’re the party of civil rights. We’re the party of human rights. No doubt about that, in my mind.»
Pritzker, who is not prevented by term limits from running for re-election in 2026, has yet to say if he’ll make a bid for a third term steering Illinois. But the clock is ticking, with the filing period opening up later this year and the state’s primary just 11 months away.
HEAD HERE FOR THE LATEST FOX NEWS REPORTING AND OPINION ON JB PRITZKER
«Given the circumstances of getting on the ballot for people, I would need to make a decision and announce it by, you know, by latest July,» Pritzker said when asked about his timetable for making a decision.
But it’s a possible presidential run by Pritzker that is grabbing headlines.
Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker says he will decide by July on whether he will seek re-election in 2026. (Brian Cassella/Chicago Tribune via AP, Pool)
Chicagoan Bill Daley, who served as former President Bill Clinton’s commerce secretary and former President Barack Obama’s chief of staff, told The Wall Street Journal last week that «there is no doubt that he [Pritzker] is going to run.»
Pritzker, asked about Daley’s prediction, said, «I’d guess I’d remind you that he didn’t support me when I ran for governor the first time… I don’t know where he gets his information.»
And on the possibility of launching a national campaign in the 2028 election cycle, Pritzker said, «All I can tell you is, I’m focused on the question of whether I will run for re-election as governor, and on defeating the policies of Donald Trump.»
DEMOCRATS’ VICE CHAIR GETS ULTIMATUM: STAY NEUTRAL IN PRIMARIES OR STEP DOWN
The governor is no stranger to New Hampshire. He headlined the 2022 New Hampshire Democratic Party convention, and he returned last September to campaign on behalf of then-Vice President Kamala Harris, who replaced then-President Joe Biden as the party’s presidential nominee in July. Pritzker made multiple stops, including addressing union members at the New Hampshire AFL-CIO’s annual Labor Day breakfast.
Pritzker was among those vetted by the Harris presidential campaign as a possible running mate.
The governor, who led a successful effort to host the 2024 Democratic National Convention in Chicago, was also among the potential 2028 White House contenders to speak during the convention week at the New Hampshire Democratic Party delegation’s daily breakfasts.
A sign outside the state capital building in Concord, New Hampshire, spotlights the state’s treasured position for the past century in holding the lead-off presidential primary. (Fox News – Paul Steinhauser)
Veteran New Hampshire-based Democratic consultant Jim Demers noted that «for many New Hampshire Democrats, his [Pritzker’s] visit is an early audition for 2028.»
«It comes at a time when voters are really looking for leadership, someone who will challenge what Donald Trump is doing. So, what he says will be weighed very heavily,» he added.
Demers, pointing to Pritzker’s handful of trips to the Granite State over the past couple of years, said that «every time he has visited with New Hampshire voters, he has delivered a message that has resonated very well.»
Neil Levesque, the longtime director of the New Hampshire Institute of Politics at Saint Anselm College, said that «Pritzker is coming into a highly political state at an opportune time because of how fired up and charged up Democrats are in opposition to President Trump.»
And he noted that the stop «will kick off the first of multiple visits by multiple potential candidates, considering that Democrats are hungry for an opposition.»
While Pritzker’s visit is the first as the very early moves in the 2028 White House race get underway, behind the scenes there’s already action.
A Granite State-based Democratic strategist who asked to remain anonymous to speak more freely shared that activists in New Hampshire are receiving fundraising emails on a regular basis from some of the potential candidates for 2028.
«Every week I receive a dozen,» the strategist said, adding that the messages are signed by Pritzker, Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro, Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear, Sen. Cory Booker of New Jersey, Rep. Ro Khanna of California and other potential 2028 contenders.
The strategist said the possible White House hopefuls are «driving messaging and their names through this constant barrage of emails.»
While the stop by Pritzker may seem very early, it’s actually occurring later in the calendar than the first stop in an early-voting state in the 2024 presidential election cycle.
Former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo speaks at a breakfast hosted by the Westside Conservative Club in Urbandale, Iowa, on March 26, 2021.
Mike Pompeo, the former congressman from Kansas who later served as CIA director and then Secretary of State in Trump’s first administration, spoke in Iowa in late March 2021.
CLICK TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP
Pompeo, who took a hard look at running for the 2024 GOP presidential nomination before deciding against launching a campaign, was the first of the potential Republican White House hopefuls that cycle to visit one of the early-voting primary and caucus states.
Politics,Elections,J.B. Pritzker,Gavin Newsom,Donald Trump,New Hampshire,Presidential Primaries
INTERNACIONAL
La muerte de “El Mencho”: cómo colaboró Estados Unidos con México para eliminar al capo narco
INTERNACIONAL
Cartels outgun police: Rocket launchers seized in El Mencho raid spotlight CJNG firepower
NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles!
Mexican forces seized rocket launchers capable of shooting down aircraft during the operation Sunday that killed cartel boss Ruben «Nemesio» Oseguera Cervantes, known as «El Mencho,» underscoring how the Mexican Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG) amassed military-style firepower over the years.
Authorities have previously linked CJNG to a 2015 attack in Jalisco in which cartel gunmen used rocket-propelled grenades to bring down a Mexican military helicopter – one of the starkest examples of a cartel directly engaging federal forces with battlefield-grade weapons.
The assault marked a turning point in how Mexican authorities viewed the group’s capabilities.
During Sunday’s raid, officials said security forces were attacked and returned fire, deploying aircraft and specialized units to carry out the operation. Authorities said troops seized armored vehicles and heavy weapons, equipment more commonly associated with armed conflict than routine law enforcement.
TOURISTS IN MEXICAN SEASIDE CITY TOLD TO STAY ON RESORT AS GOVERNMENT WARNS OF ‘CLASHES’
Ruben «Nemesio» Oseguera Cervantes, known as «El Mencho,» was killed during a Mexican operation in Jalisco on Sunday. (Drug Enforcement Administration)
Mexican Special Forces, with aircraft assistance from the Air Force and National Guard rapid-reaction units, participated in the mission, highlighting the scale of force required to confront senior cartel leadership.
Former U.S. officials have described CJNG as operating more like a paramilitary organization than a traditional trafficking ring, using coordinated roadblocks, armed convoys and structured enforcement wings to assert control in contested regions.
In prior reporting, former Drug Enforcement Administration officials said the group commanded large numbers of gunmen and organized itself in a way that allowed it to deploy force quickly and visibly.
JUSTICE DEPARTMENT UNSEALS MULTI-STATE INDICTMENTS AGAINST TREN DE ARAGUA LEADERS FOR VIOLENT CRIMES
CJNG is known for its paramilitary-style operations and structure. (Eduardo Verdugo, File/AP Photo)
CJNG’s tactics have included seizing vehicles and staging coordinated attacks in urban areas to demonstrate strength and deter rivals or security forces.
Over time, such displays reinforced its reputation as one of Mexico’s most heavily armed criminal organizations.
ALLEGED SINALOA CARTEL FENTANYL PRODUCER CHARGED IN NEWLY UNSEALED FEDERAL INDICTMENT
Smoke rises into the sky over Puerto Vallarta during an operation targeting cartel activity on Feb. 22, 2026. (Obtained by Fox News Digital)
The State Department issued a travel alert Sunday urging Americans in multiple Mexican states to shelter in place due to «ongoing security operations and related road blockages and criminal activity,» reflecting the instability that can follow major cartel confrontations.
In recent years, Mexican authorities have increasingly relied on military forces – rather than local police – to confront senior cartel figures as groups like CJNG expanded their reach and arsenals.
CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP
The raid that killed «El Mencho» marked not only the removal of a powerful drug lord but also another example of how heavily armed cartels can challenge state forces in direct confrontations.
location mexico,mexican cartel violence,narco terror,military
INTERNACIONAL
El narcotráfico dio una brutal muestra de poder de fuego ante el cambio de estrategia del gobierno mexicano
La violencia desatada tras la muerte del líder del Cartel de Jalisco Nueva Generación (CJNG), Nemesio Oseguera Cervantes, alias “El Mencho”, dejó al descubierto no solo el poder de fuego que maneja el narcotráfico en México, sino también un cambio evidente de la estrategia del gobierno en el combate contra el crimen organizado.
No fue un hecho sorpresivo. El narco domina vastas regiones donde impera su ley. Incluso, en muchos estados se convirtió en un importante empleador e impulsor de las economías locales en base a su connivencia y control del poder político y judicial.
Leé también: Nahuel Gallo exige asistencia consular y la visita de la Cruz Roja para levantar la huelga de hambre
Con 175.000 “soldados”, es hoy la quinta fuerza empleadora más grande del país, detrás de Fomento Económico Mexicano (la empresa embotelladora más grande de Coca-Cola en el mundo), Walmart, Manpower y América Móvil. Está por delante hasta de la petrolera estatal Pemex y el poderoso Grupo Salinas.
En ese escenario, el Cartel Jalisco Nueva Generación es uno de los más poderosos y violentos.
El académico mexicano Rafael Prieto Curial, investigador del Centro de Ciencias de la Complejidad, con sede en Viena, dijo a TN que el Cartel de Jalisco Nueva Generación tiene hoy 25.000 miembros.
La presión de Donald Trump y el cambio de estrategia de Claudia Sheinbaum
Algo cambió en México tras la asunción de Donald Trump hace un año. La presión ejercida por el presidente estadounidense sobre el gobierno de la izquierdista Claudia Sheinbaum derivó en un palpable cambio de estrategia en el combate al tráfico de drogas.
Hace seis años, las fuerzas federales mexicanas detuvieron y enseguida liberaron a Ovidio Guzmán, hijo de Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán, líder histórico del Cartel de Sinaloa, hoy sentenciado y detenido en una cárcel de máxima seguridad en Estados Unidos.
La presidenta de México, Claudia Sheinbaum (Foto: EFE)
Entonces, el gobierno del presidente Andrés Manuel López Obrador reconoció que habían liberado al hijo de El Chapo para evitar un baño de sangre.
Hoy, la estrategia es otra. El gobierno sabía que la muerte de El Mencho iba a derivar en una ola de caos y violencia como la que se vivió el domingo en vastas zonas de Jalisco, incluso en el turístico balneario de Puerto Vallarta.
Leé también: El mensaje de la presidenta de México tras la muerte del líder del Cártel de Jalisco: “Mantenernos en calma”
“Por presión de Estados Unidos, pareciera que se está cambiando la estrategia del gobierno respecto al narco. Esto hubiera sido impensable hace 10 años. El caso emblemático fue el de Ovidio Guzmán, detenido y liberado para evitar el caos que vemos hoy. Es una visión totalmente distinta”, dijo a TN el exdiputado Fernando Rodríguez Doval, ex secretario nacional del Partido Acción Nacional (PAN, derecha).
Para el dirigente, esta nueva táctica “puede acarrear rupturas en el seno del gobierno”.
“Pareciera que esta captura y abatimiento es respuesta a las presiones de Trump, Eso está cada vez más claro. Fue un operativo conjunto. Habrá que ver hasta dónde abarcó la cooperación. Si solo fue una colaboración de inteligencia o hubo algo más. Pero es evidente que fue una acción coordinada con el gobierno de Estados Unidos”, afirmó.
El poder del narcotráfico en México
El poder del narco mexicano ha crecido en forma exponencial en los últimos años.
Los carteles manejan ejércitos propios con un poder de fuego brutal que quedó plasmado en la ola de incendios de vehículos, cortes de rutas y tiroteos que siguieron a la muerte de El Mencho.
Un policía observa un vehículo calcinado que fue incendiado en una carretera de Guadalajara, Jalisco, México, el domingo 22 de febrero de 2026, tras la muerte del líder del Cártel Jalisco Nueva Generación, Nemesio Rubén Oseguera Cervantes, conocido como «El Mencho». (Foto AP/Alejandra Leyva)
“Su muerte derivó en el despliegue en alrededor de 10 estados de muchísima fuerza narco. Esto nos habla de la enorme fuerza del crimen organizado y la debilidad dramática del Estado a pesar del éxito del operativo”, dijo Rodríguez Doval.
Para el exlegislador, el narco creció de la mano de su connivencia con el poder político. “Eso le ha permitido crecer mucho, conquistando espacios cada vez más fuertes y dominar buena parte del territorio nacional”.
El poder es tan omnipresente que el tráfico de drogas es hoy solo una parte del negocio.
“Hoy se dedican a todo tipo de actividades. Antes eran solo las drogas, pero ahora se han diversificado con ´nuevos mercados´. Se dedican al tráfico de personas, el robo de autos, el cobro de extorsiones, el secuestro, venta de gasolina, peaje. Lo que vemos es una industria criminal presente en muchos ámbitos económicos», afirmó.
La sucesión en el Cartel de Jalisco Nueva Generación
En su diálogo con TN, Rafael Prieto Curial dijo que el abatimiento de El Mencho genera tres sensaciones diferentes.
“Por un lado, era el líder de uno de los carteles mas importantes del mundo, sanguinario, violento y con muchísimo poder en todos los estados del país. Su caída es algo bueno”, dijo.
Pero al mismo tiempo genera la reacción del cartel con “víctimas secundarias, pánico en la sociedad y acostumbrarse a que México es este país” dominado en vastas zonas por organizaciones criminales.
Finalmente, ahora se abre un panorama de enorme incertidumbre por la sucesión del poder en el grupo. “Si el cartel se fragmenta en más de una facción, como ocurrió con el de Sinaloa, podría terminar en una violencia terrible como sucede hoy en ese estado”, indicó.
“Pero si una persona distinta ocupa el lugar de El Mencho, el impacto es nulo. El cartel tiene mas o menos 25.000 miembros. Si pierde a uno, aunque sea el más importante, solo es uno. No estamos viendo a los otros 25.000 que siguen siendo parte del grupo. Lo feo es pensar que aquí termina la política de seguridad”, concluyó.
México, Narcotráfico
Venezuela: el gendarme argentino Nahuel Gallo inició una huelga de hambre para reclamar su liberación
Dólar estable y tasas en pesos: cuál es la opción que elige el mercado y cuánto se puede estirar la calma cambiaria
Franco Colapinto se prepara para su estreno en el Gran Premio de Australia de la F1: días, horarios y todo lo que hay que saber
Lo que más me fascina del nuevo Judas de Ken Levine no es que sea otro Bioshock, es que nos va a permitir vivir el experimento de Stanford
Reforma laboral | Desafíos para una ley multipropósito
El Senado finaliza su período extraordinario con dos sesiones y la reforma laboral como máxima prioridad
Escándalo en MasterChef: una famosa abandonó a los gritos y acusando que está todo arreglado
Del himno peronista de Kelly Olmos al exabrupto de Agustina Propato: las perlitas del debate por la reforma laboral
Villarruel cuestionó la apertura de importaciones: «Sin industria, se pasa a depender de China»
“Ahora es la hora de jugarse”: el mensaje de Patricia Bullrich a los empresarios tras aprobarse la reforma laboral
ECONOMIA2 días agoVillarruel cuestionó la apertura de importaciones: «Sin industria, se pasa a depender de China»
- POLITICA1 día ago
“Ahora es la hora de jugarse”: el mensaje de Patricia Bullrich a los empresarios tras aprobarse la reforma laboral
- ECONOMIA1 día ago
Según un especialista, el precio de la carne se mantendrá alto “entre dos y tres años”
