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Makeovers are part of the prep for Democrats eyeing the White House in 2028
Democrats eyeing 2028 presidential runs are losing weight, upgrading their wardrobes and changing their hairstyles — a time-honored tradition for White House hopefuls that has taken on new urgency in the TikTok era.
Why it matters: The makeovers by former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker, Michigan Sen. Elissa Slotkin and others are the latest signs that the pre-primary has begun.
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* Presidential candidates have carefully curated their physical appearances since the early days of TV, and social media has meant they need to be more camera-ready than ever.
* Chris Christie got lap band surgery before his 2016 presidential campaign. Jeb Bush lost so much weight on the Paleo diet in that cycle that he had to buy a new wardrobe — and it sparked concerns about his health. Hillary Clinton spent tens of thousands of dollars to enhance her clothing in that campaign.
🪞 "Appearance matters," said James Carville, chief strategist for Bill Clinton's successful 1992 campaign. "No one's going to say, 'I'm not going to vote for someone because they're not attractive.' They won't admit to it. But it certainly matters."
* The challenge for candidates is to look their best, but also down-to-earth. "You're not running for the cover of GQ, you're running for a political office," said Derek Guy, the editor of "Put This On" and a popular writer on men's fashion.
* "At least since Jimmy Carter, Americans have started to dress down. So there is a kind of tension where you also want to shed those parts of that uniform — the tailored suit, the tie — to seem more relatable."
Zoom in: Potential 2028 aspirants are changing their appearances in three main areas: fitness, styling, and facial hair.
1. Getting in shape
* Even President Trump has noticed: Pritzker has lost weight this year. The Illinois governor opened up about his fitness journey with an NBC station in Chicago. "I have kids I want to be around for," Pritzker said, noting that he now walks about five miles each morning.
* Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, who embarked on a national tour this year after his 2024 loss with Vice President Harris, has slimmed down. He stepped up his running routine, an aide told us, and trained for a 10-mile race with his daughter this summer.
* Slotkin, who has created some buzz lately with high-profile speeches and trips to Missouri and Kansas, also has lost weight in recent months.
2. Improving their style
* Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro, another potential 2028 candidate, actually began his makeover around 2022, when he was first elected governor.
* Before then, many of his outfits were dated, Guy said. "It looks like clothes that you bought in the '90s and just held on to them," he told Axios while looking at Shapiro's official portrait from several years ago. "A charcoal pinstripe suit is very, very formal looking. It's historically considered a business fabric, especially for bankers."
* Now, Shapiro's suits are more tailored and modern, but not flashy. He sometimes ditches a tie and swapped out his old glasses for a trendier, rectangular pair, and often wears sneakers.
* Guy did approve of one potential 2028 candidate's fashion: California Gov. Gavin Newsom, a frontrunner in early Democratic polls. "I think he dresses pretty well," said Guy, who was particularly complimentary of Newsom's ties. "He gets the knot right. He does a very small forehand knot, and he ties it with a dimple. And he buys very high-end ties." But Guy said Newsom might be too stylish for some voters.
3. Growing facial hair
* Shortly after the 2024 election, Buttigieg, who traveled to Iowa this year, began sporting a beard — cultivating a scruffier image just as Democrats were scrambling to figure out how to win back more men voters. Buttigieg has said he grew the beard because it was one of the first times he wasn't in a job in which he had to be clean-cut.
* Connecticut Sen. Chris Murphy, who was in New Hampshire recently, started wearing what he jokingly calls his "democracy beard" this year.
Zoom out: At a time when candidates have to navigate a hyper-fragmented media environment — going from shooting a direct-to-camera video for social media one minute to sitting for an hour-long podcast interview the next — Democratic strategists say there's more pressure than ever to perfect a candidate's image.
* The rise of Ozempic and GLP-1 drugs has also made weight loss more attainable.
* And there are practical reasons to get fit: Veterans of presidential campaigns have said working out helps candidates build strength ahead of a physically demanding undertaking.
Yes, but: Voters value authenticity, and over-managing a candidate's appearance carries risks.
* "If something feels forced, people are going to be able to sniff that out," said Parker Butler, a Democratic digital strategist who led the team behind @KamalaHQ, the Harris campaign's social media brand.
Despite the potential pitfalls, there's a reason presidential candidates carefully shape their appearance as they gear up for campaigns.
* In 1992, media shot photos and videos of Clinton and his vice presidential pick Al Gore jogging in shorts, reflecting the fresh, energetic vibe their campaign was trying to project opposite then-President George H.W. Bush.
* "When I saw that picture," Carville said, "I kind of knew we were going to win."
