Kamala Harris’ 107 Days was the top-selling memoir of 2025. The former vice president might well choose to run again in the 2028 presidential election, but if she does, she’ll have competition this time around. It’s been a busy time for possible candidates who are positioning themselves for 2028 campaigns, and some of those likely Democratic hopefuls are publishing their own memoirs this year—although chances are that none will be as popular as Harris’ chronicle of her brief and ill-fated bid.
Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro was first out of the gate, with Where We Keep the Light: Stories From a Life of Service (Harper/HarperCollins, Jan. 27). “In a memoir that is politically shrewd and deeply personal,” says our review, “Shapiro discusses the importance of his Jewish faith, family devotion, and public service.” Our critic summed up the book as “a candid insider account of state-level politics and the art of successful bipartisan governance.”
A few weeks later came California Gov. Gavin Newsom’s Young Man in a Hurry: A Memoir of Discovery (Penguin Press, Feb. 24). As the title suggests, Newsom focuses largely on his early, formative years rather than his time in office. Our review said the memoir is “an engaging portrait of resilience and drive, complicated by proximity to wealth and influence.”
U.S. Sen. Cory Booker of New Jersey—who dropped out of the 2020 presidential race early —has written Stand (St. Martin’s, March 24), which takes its title from his marathon 25-hour speech on the Senate floor in 2025. Our reviewer described the book as “a hopeful civic sermon favoring inspiration over concrete prescriptions.”
Two more potential presidential aspirants who are releasing books are U.S. Sen. Chris Murphy of Connecticut, with Crisis of the Common Good: The Fight for Meaning and Connection in a Broken America (Farrar, Straus and Giroux, May 26), and Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear, with Go and Do Likewise: How We Heal a Broken Country (St. Martin’s, Sept. 22).
In a sure sign of Donald Trump’s domination of the Republican Party, only a couple of GOP politicians with any visions of living at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue have yet put pen to paper: former Vice President Mike Pence, with What Conservatives Believe: Rediscovering the Conservative Conscience (Center Street, June 2), and current Vice President JD Vance, with Communion: Finding My Way Back to Faith (HarperCollins, June 16).
Politicians with their eyes set on other sights are also publishing books. Former Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms, running for governor of Georgia in this year’s election, has penned The Rough Side of the Mountain: A Memoir (Mariner, April 21). Our reviewer called it “a well-crafted memoir of private struggles and public service.” Deb Haaland, the former Secretary of the Interior, is a candidate for governor of New Mexico; her memoir is A Voice Like Mine (Henry Holt, June 9). Her book, said our reviewer, is a “a convincing and down-to-earth account of a remarkably varied life.” And U.S. Sen. Raphael Warnock of Georgia is coming out with The Crooked Places Made Straight: Reflections on the Moral Meaning of America (Penguin Press, June 16). Warnock can rest easy for a bit (unless he has other plans): He’s not up for re-election until 2028.
John McMurtrie is the nonfiction editor.
