As the 2025 New York City mayoral race heats up, an unlikely name is beginning to stir quiet whispers among progressive operatives and policy wonks alike: Brad Lander.

Lander, currently serving as New York City Comptroller and running a policy-heavy campaign for mayor, is seen by some insiders as representing a new mold of technocratic progressive — principled but pragmatic, ideological yet results-driven. And now, the question no longer seems quite so absurd: Could Lander be laying the groundwork for a 2028 presidential run?