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{"id":24633,"date":"2026-06-21T18:32:18","date_gmt":"2026-06-21T18:32:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bluelightnews.com\/category\/politics\/which-members-of-the-prospective-28-field-are-hitting-the-pitch\/"},"modified":"2026-06-21T18:32:18","modified_gmt":"2026-06-21T18:32:18","slug":"which-members-of-the-prospective-28-field-are-hitting-the-pitch","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bluelightnews.com\/category\/politics\/which-members-of-the-prospective-28-field-are-hitting-the-pitch\/","title":{"rendered":"Which members of the prospective \u201928 field are hitting the pitch"},"content":{"rendered":"<div>\n<p>Gov. Josh Shapiro is quickly becoming the prospective 2028 presidential campaign field\u2019s biggest World Cup fan.<\/p>\n<p>On Monday, the Pennsylvania governor and potential presidential candidate is set to attend his second match of the tournament when he is in the stands at Lincoln Financial Field to see Iraq play France in Philadelphia, according to a spokesperson. <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/GovernorShapiro\/status\/2066312726352183692?s=20\" target=\"_blank\">He also attended<\/a> Ivory Coast vs. Ecuador there a week ago with his wife Lori. Shapiro is also expected to hit the FIFA Fan Festival before the match.<\/p>\n<p>Shapiro joins a growing list of 2028 hopefuls to take in the tournament. California Gov. Gavin Newsom, alongside Secretary of State Marco Rubio, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.politico.com\/news\/2026\/06\/11\/gavin-newsom-marco-rubio-world-cup-2026-fifa-sofi-stadium-00959897\" target=\"_blank\">attended the U.S. opener<\/a> against Paraguay. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. attended the American squad\u2019s match against Australia. New Jersey Gov. Mikie Sherrill, who hasn\u2019t actively made moves toward a campaign but has carved out a leadership role in the party, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.politico.com\/live-updates\/2026\/06\/13\/world-cup-2026\/new-york-new-jersey-hochul-sherrill-00961495\" target=\"_blank\">attended the France<\/a> vs. Senegal game at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey.<\/p>\n<p>A number of potential 2028 candidates in states hosting games have not yet made the pilgrimage to a game: Sen. Cory Booker (D-N.J.) hasn\u2019t partaken of an East Rutherford match. Sens. Jon Ossoff and Raphael Warnock of Georgia, for example, have not attended matches at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta (Ossoff has said he has no interest in running for president), nor has Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.). Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) hasn\u2019t taken in a match at either AT&amp;T Stadium in Arlington or NRG Stadium in Houston.<\/p>\n<p>Shapiro is known on local sports radio as \u201cJosh in Abington,\u201d and is a fan of the Philadelphia Eagles and 76ers. That fandom could help him build stronger relationships with voters. Philadelphia\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/CoconnellFox29\/status\/2068375328066535604?s=20\" target=\"_blank\">fan zone has drawn<\/a> significant crowds.<\/p>\n<p>Shapiro has also used host status to distribute <a href=\"https:\/\/www.pa.gov\/governor\/newsroom\/2026-press-releases\/-icymi--gov-shapiro-and-philadelphia-soccer-2026-distribute-worl\" target=\"_blank\">700 free tickets<\/a> to Philadelphia community organizations. He said it was \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/governorshapiro\/videos\/700-pennsylvanians-are-headed-to-the-world-cup-for-free-because-philadelphia-soc\/1358035696184237\/\" target=\"_blank\">really important<\/a>\u201d to him that it would happen when he landed matches.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cGovernor Shapiro believes the FIFA World Cup is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity that should benefit all Pennsylvanians,\u201d his office said in a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.pa.gov\/governor\/newsroom\/2026-press-releases\/-icymi--gov-shapiro-and-philadelphia-soccer-2026-distribute-worl\" target=\"_blank\">press release<\/a> earlier this month, and \u201che is working to make the matches free and accessible to as many people as possible.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The tickets are also an economic development tool: \u201cAs part of Visit PA&#8217;s sponsorship of Philadelphia Soccer 2026, the Commonwealth gains access to a mix of suite, VIP, and general admission tickets, which are being used to host business leaders, prospective partners, and other guests to further strengthen Pennsylvania\u2019s economic development and promote the Commonwealth as the best place to visit, live, and do business,\u201d a Shapiro spokesperson said.<\/p>\n<p>More broadly, the politics of attending a FIFA World Cup game are tricky, says Eric Koch, a soccer fan and Democratic consultant based in New York City.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;In fairness the ticket prices are insane and the U.S. matches have all been on the West Coast so it&#8217;s hard for anyone to get out there \u2014 and AOC has been (rightfully!) basking in the Knicks win,\u201d Koch said. \u201cThe U.S. loves a winner and this squad is not only super talented but is also on the cusp of really capturing the hearts of the whole country as we go to the knockout rounds so I expect we will see more candidates embracing them. It&#8217;s going to be a great unifying thing to rally behind.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>For Democrats in particular, embracing the World Cup could help them with two political projects, Koch said: embracing some kind of patriotism and relating more with voters, but it has to be an authentic effort.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAs with all things in politics, if it\u2019s not authentic to you and what you\u2019re about, it\u2019s going to seem fake and forced and this applies extra to sports, which people have actual deep connections to,\u201d Koch said. \u201cThe good thing is the USMNT can be everyone\u2019s team and as the hype train builds I think we will see more pols embracing them.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Gov. Josh Shapiro is quickly becoming the prospective 2028 presidential campaign field\u2019s biggest World Cup fan. On Monday, the Pennsylvania governor and potential presidential candidate is set to attend his second match of the tournament when he is in the stands at Lincoln Financial Field to see Iraq play France in Philadelphia, according to a [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-24633","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-politics"],"amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/bluelightnews.com\/category\/politics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24633","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/bluelightnews.com\/category\/politics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/bluelightnews.com\/category\/politics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bluelightnews.com\/category\/politics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bluelightnews.com\/category\/politics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=24633"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/bluelightnews.com\/category\/politics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24633\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/bluelightnews.com\/category\/politics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=24633"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bluelightnews.com\/category\/politics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=24633"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bluelightnews.com\/category\/politics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=24633"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}