Former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg is leading in new polling on a hypothetical Democratic presidential primary as the party seeks a new path after 2024 losses.

An Emerson College Polling survey released Thursday found Buttigieg at the top of the pack with 18 percent support, followed by California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) at 16 percent.

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) notched 11 percent support, while Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro (D) and former Vice President Kamala Harris — the party’s 2024 nominee — earned 10 percent each.

Another 9 percent of survey respondents backed Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear (D), and 18 percent were undecided.

The new numbers mark a slight uptick in recent months for Buttigieg, Ocasio-Cortez and Beshear — while support for Newsom and Harris has ticked down slightly.

Buttigieg hinted at a possible 2028 presidential run in remarks at the National Action Network conference last month.

“When you ran for president, you met me and we went up to a well-publicized lunch at Sylvia’s Restaurant in Harlem. Just so my calendar is clear. Should I be reserving a table at Sylvia’s? Are you going to run again?” Rev. Al Sharpton asked Buttigieg at the conference.

“You save me a seat, I’ll be there,” Buttigieg said, without elaborating.

Newsom, the next-best performer in the poll, has long been seen as a 2028 front-runner. He’s term-limited as governor of the Golden State but has built a strong national profile in part through his public sparring with President Trump.

Harris has said she “might” run again, which would mark her third consecutive run for the Oval Office.

And when asked about 2028 speculation earlier this month, Ocasio-Cortez said, “They assume that my ambition is a title or a seat, and my ambition is way bigger than that. My ambition is to change this country.”

Conducted May 24-25, Emerson College Polling surveyed 1,000 likely voters and had a credibility interval, similar to a margin of error, of 3 points. For the subsample of 432 likely Democratic primary voters, the credibility interval was 4.7 points.

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