Mock Convention Kicks Off 2028 Cycle  Mock Convention 2028 hosted its first campus conversation this fall during Young Alumni Weekend.

By Kelsey Goodwin
September 30, 2026

“The convention itself may still be two years away, but the process of learning, listening and engaging starts now.”

~ Abigail Pickens ’28

Excited students, faculty and alumni were greeted by the 2028 Mock Convention executive team last Friday as they filed through the doors of University Chapel and took their seats.

W&L’s Mock Convention kicked off its 29th cycle last weekend with a visit to campus by former second gentleman Doug Emhoff during W&L’s Young Alumni Weekend events. Emhoff sat down with two members of Mock Convention’s leadership team for a Q&A in University Chapel on Friday, Sept. 25. Emhoff was also joined by first gentleman of Virginia Adam Spanberger in a private reception in Watson Galleries before the Q&A.

Mock Con’s Director of Communications Korbin Williams ’29, a politics and sociology double major from Dexter, Missouri, and Mock Con General Chair Abigail Pickens ’28, a politics major from Dallas, asked Emhoff about a variety of topics, from reflections on his time with the Biden administration to his thoughts on bipartisanship, campaign finance and civic engagement. The audience had the opportunity for questions at the end of the afternoon’s discussion. Emhoff praised W&L’s culture of “seriousness, thoughtfulness and respectful debate.” Pickens says that what she appreciated most about the conversation with Emhoff was the opportunity to hear about public life from a perspective students do not necessarily encounter every day.

“We are at the very beginning of two years of research, conversations and engagement with people and ideas from across the political landscape,” she says. “Starting with a conversation like this demonstrated what we want Mock Con to be throughout the cycle: an opportunity for students to listen, ask thoughtful questions and engage directly with people who have experienced American politics and public service firsthand.”

Pickens added that having the conversation take place as part of Young Alumni weekend made it even more special.

“Mock Convention has existed for more than a century because generation after generation of W&L students has taken ownership of it,” she says. “Beginning our cycle with current students and alumni in the same room was a great reminder that we are inheriting this tradition, but we also have the responsibility to shape what it becomes next.”

Mock Convention, which will be held in February 2028, is a simulated presidential nominating convention held on Washington and Lee University’s campus every four years, focusing on the party currently out of power in the White House. Emhoff’s visit was intended to spark the convention’s momentum toward its 2028 main event by engaging and educating the campus on pertinent political issues surrounding the 2028 presidential election. Williams says that bringing a variety of speakers to campus leading up to and during the convention is important to the organization’s mission.

“Mock Con, at its foundation, is an organization that promotes political education and insight for the Washington and Lee community,” Williams says. “Washington and Lee students look forward to the opportunity to hear directly from the people who are shaping our nation. We bring quality speakers that all students can learn from, taking the lessons with them throughout their careers and life.”

The goal of the convention is to predict the candidate the current party out of power will nominate to run for president of the United States. At its core, the convention is an academic exercise conducted by the W&L undergraduate student body designed to inform students and the public of the state and history of U.S. politics, providing valuable context for current political affairs and discourse within the context of an academic community. The convention, founded in 1908, is one of the university’s longest-running traditions and is also the nation’s most accurate mock political nominating convention, with 75% accuracy. Five U.S. presidents have spoken at Mock Con throughout its history, including Harry Truman, Richard Nixon, Jimmy Carter, Bill Clinton and Joe Biden. During the 2024 cycle, Special Collections & Archives at Washington and Lee curated a special exhibition in Leyburn Library showcasing the university’s collection of Mock Convention memorabilia dating back to the convention’s founding.

Mock Convention is scheduled to bring former White House press secretaries Dana Perino and Josh Earnest for an event on Friday, Oct. 2 in University Chapel during Parents and Family Weekend. Perino served as White House press secretary under President George W. Bush from 2007-2009, becoming the first Republican woman to serve as press secretary of the United States. She is a political commentator and journalist currently serving as co-anchor of “America’s Newsroom” on Fox, as well as a New York Times bestselling author. Earnest served as the White House press secretary under President Barack Obama from 2014-2017, during which time he participated in multilateral summits including the G20 and G7, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), the United Nations General Assembly, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC). Pickens says the events and speakers offered by Mock Con in the lead-up to the convention are an important part of the convention itself.

“Predicting the nominee is an exciting part of what we do, but the experience is much bigger than the prediction itself,”  Pickens says. “Over the course of a cycle, students research voters and candidates, analyze elections, organize delegations, fundraise, communicate with political leaders and engage with perspectives from across the country. Bringing speakers to campus gives students the chance to move beyond reading about politics and engage directly with people who have participated in it. Mock Con has endured for more than a century, through many very different political moments, because every four years a new generation of students takes responsibility for understanding the political landscape for itself. That, to me, is one of the most important things Mock Convention can do. The convention itself may still be two years away, but the process of learning, listening and engaging starts now.”

Learn more about upcoming Mock Convention 2028 events and opportunities to get involved with the convention.