By The Democratic Party’s populist left may be looking beyond Washington and at one of Donald Trump’s loudest critics for its next presidential candidate.
Progressive activists are increasingly discussing United Auto Workers President Shawn Fain as a potential contender for the 2028 Democratic nomination, viewing the combative union leader as someone who could carry Bernie Sanders-style economic populism into a new generation, according to Politico.
Fain rose to national prominence after leading the UAW’s 2023 “stand-up” strike against Ford, General Motors and Stellantis.
The strike ended with contracts providing substantial wage increases, improved retirement benefits and billions of dollars in new investment commitments. The agreements included a 25% general wage increase over four years, with some lower-paid workers receiving much larger raises.
Fain had taken office only months earlier, becoming the first UAW president chosen through a direct election of the union’s membership. He was sworn in on March 26, 2023.
Since then, he has built a national profile as a sharp critic of corporate America and concentrated wealth.
Fain regularly attacks the “billionaire class” and has appeared publicly wearing a T-shirt reading “EAT THE RICH.” His rhetoric closely resembles the economic message promoted for years by Sanders, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and other leaders of the Democratic Party’s socialist wing.
Unlike those politicians, however, Fain has never held elected office.
For some left-wing activists, that is part of the attraction.
Bhaskar Sunkara, a former vice chairman of the Democratic Socialists of America and a 2020 surrogate for Sanders, has publicly identified Fain as a potentially formidable candidate.
“If he’s willing to run, [he] might be the best candidate for the left,” Sunkara told Playbook.
Sunkara argued that Fain’s political message is grounded partly in Christian egalitarian values, allowing him to frame economic redistribution and organized labor in moral and religious terms.
That approach could theoretically help Fain reach independent and working-class voters who may be less receptive to the language traditionally used by socialist candidates.
Fain has reportedly been approached about running for president. In private conversations, he has not categorically rejected the suggestion, although there is no indication that he is actively preparing a campaign.
In a statement provided to Politico, Fain insisted that he remains focused on his current position.
“The only presidency I have ever had any interest in is with the UAW to continue to build on the great work we’ve done over the last 3 and a half years.”
The speculation surrounding Fain comes as the Democratic Party’s socialist wing attempts to build on a series of victories over establishment Democrats.
New Conservative Post previously reported that the Democratic Socialists of America began surveying its chapters about potential 2028 presidential candidates after candidates backed by New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani defeated several longtime Democratic incumbents.
The organization asked chapters to identify preferred candidates before a planned endorsement process that could culminate at the DSA’s 2027 national convention. Ocasio-Cortez remains one of the most frequently discussed possibilities, but DSA leaders have said no candidate will receive the organization’s support automatically.
Those victories have also weakened the authority of the Democratic establishment.
Candidates supported by Mamdani defeated contenders backed by House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries in multiple New York primaries. The results positioned additional democratic socialists to enter Congress and raised questions about whether Jeffries and other party leaders can contain the increasingly powerful activist left.
Fain could provide that movement with a different kind of national candidate.
He shares much of its anti-corporate language but presents himself as a Midwestern labor leader rather than a product of Washington, academia or New York progressive politics. His union background and willingness to invoke Christian values could make it more difficult for opponents to portray him as culturally disconnected from working-class voters.
There is currently no indication that Fain endorses the DSA’s broader institutional agenda.
New Conservative Post reported last month that the organization’s developing platform calls for abolishing the U.S. Senate and replacing the independently elected president and existing Supreme Court with branches selected by and subordinate to a national legislature.
That distinction could become important if Fain’s name continues to circulate.
The left is searching for someone capable of combining Sanders’ class-based message with broader appeal outside the Democratic Party’s most progressive urban strongholds. Fain’s supporters believe a union president who confronts automobile executives and speaks openly about faith could accomplish what more conventional socialist candidates cannot.
For now, however, Fain says he is interested in only one presidency.
Whether the populist left accepts that answer is another question.
