Several prominent potential presidential candidates were running in the 2026 midterms - and some emerged looking strong.

Georgia Democratic Senator Jon Ossoff won by a sizeable margin in the politically competitive state that Trump won in 2024.

While he has previously said he has no plans to run for president, his successful campaign, with several viral moments, helped boost his national profile.

Another potential Democratic nominee, Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro, swept aside his Republican challenger.

Shapiro has not committed to a 2028 run but analysts point to his broad appeal in swing-state Pennsylvania as a sign that he could be competitive on the national stage.

Illinois Governor JB Pritzker also won after a campaign pundits in his state described as a "tune-up" for a presidential run.

California Governor Gavin Newsom could not run for re-election in the midterms but he is invested in the outcome of a ballot initiative to tax the state's wealthy residents which he campaigned against.

On the Republican side, there were two potential 2028 names running in Arkansas.

Republican Senator Tom Cotton and Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders - a one-time Trump administration press secretary - were able to stay in office by a narrower margin than before, both earning just above half of the votes in the conservative state.

Exit polls suggest the swing against Republicans was partly due to anger felt by voters at the actions of the Trump administration.

That could present a challenge to his potential successors who come from the ranks of the current leadership, including Vice-President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio.

"The one person who has been hurt badly by this election campaign is Vance," said Karen Beckwith, a professor of political science at Case Western Reserve University in Ohio.

Vance has already sought to distance himself from defeat - and from a foreign policy adventure in Iran that was politically disastrous for his party.

"The reason we lost is the war," he wrote on X.

Rubio has denied reports he is considering leaving his post ahead of a 2028 presidential run.

Other possible Republican candidates may benefit from not being part of the administration. Some have been staking out a position on what went wrong and what next.

In a lengthy post on X, Senator Ted Cruz, who was not running this year, said that too many Republican politicians seem like "they didn't care" about the economic issues faced by voters.

"It is dark right now, but it is always darkest before the dawn, and morning is coming," he wrote. "That is my fervent prayer, and that is my commitment to you."

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, who abandoned his 2024 presidential run after being trounced by Trump early on, was similarly critical and pointed to Republican victories in Florida as a sign of what can be accomplished.

Former New Jersey Governor Chris Christie was blunt in his assessment: "The Trump era is over."

Both the centrist and left wings of the Democratic Party have claimed victory from the results as each side sifts through possible 2028 contenders.

Dozens are already making moves, Obama's former adviser Jim Messina has told the BBC.

El-Sayed's win in Michigan was a breakthrough moment for left-wing Democrats because he triumphed in a swing state.

His supporters now claim his win could supercharge left-wing candidates in the 2028 election.

"The old notions of electability are out the door, and bold economist populist outsiders proved they can win in battleground states," said Adam Green, the co-founder of the Progressive Change Campaign Committee.

Green added that the "water is now warm" for candidates such as New York Democratic representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez to run in presidential primaries and "know that they can win."

Moderate Democrats, however, claimed victories across the country, with the "Blue Dog Caucus" of moderate and conservative Democrats gaining at least 14 seats in Congress, nearly doubling its current size.

This has led many within that wing of the party to conclude that centrist candidates that bill themselves as pragmatic and willing to work with conservatives could woo Republican voters.

Given the success of Democratic candidates who focused on cost of living issues, an economy-first approach will likely be a focus again in two years.

Amirah Siquierah, the director of federal affairs at the Working Families Party, said successful candidates in 2028 will combine economic populism with newer concerns such as data centres.