Kamala Harris sets summer deadline to decide on California governor run
WASHINGTON − Former Vice President Kamala Harris will decide by the end of the summer whether she will run for governor in her home state of California, a source familiar with her plans said, while she keeps open the option of running for president in 2028.
Harris is exploring jumping back into state electoral politics by running in 2026 to replace term-limited Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom, who is considered a possible 2028 Democratic presidential contender himself.
Politico first reported Harris' timetable for a decision on seeking the Democratic nomination for California governor, which would almost certainly take herself out of the 2028 presidential sweepstakes if she wins and succeeds Newsom in the governor's office.
Harris, the 2024 Democratic presidential nominee, has kept a relatively low public profile since her loss to President Donald Trump in November. But she spoke last month at the the NAACP Image Awards in Pasadena, California, broadcast by Black Entertainment Television, where she was awarded the organization's Chairman's Award.
"While we have no illusions about what we are up against in this chapter of our American story, this chapter will be written not simply by whoever occupies the Oval Office nor by the wealthiest among us," Harris said in a reference to Trump and White House senior adviser Elon Musk, the world's richest person.
Harris mounted a snapshot 107-day campaign for president, quickly emerging as the Democratic nominee after former President Joe Biden's exit from the 2024 race. She initially erased polling leads Trump had over Biden, but the momentum was short-lived as Harris ultimately lost all seven closely contested battleground states to Trump. Harris struggled to distance herself from Biden's poor approval ratings and convince Americans tired of the status quo that she represented change.
Harris, who lost her bid to be the first Black female U.S. president, would be the first Black female governor of a U.S. state if she were to win.
Former U.S. Rep. Katie Porter, D-Calif., is considering a run for California governor. Other Democrats who have announced their candidacies are former Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, Lt. Gov. Eleni Kounalakis, former California state Senate Leader Toni Atkins, state schools superintendent Tony Thurmond and the state's former comptroller, Betty Yee. Most if not all these contenders, however, probably would bow out if Harris runs, Politico reported.
Harris has won statewide elections in California three times before. The first came in 2010, when she was narrowly elected state attorney general by less than 1 percentage point. She was reelected in 2014. And in 2016, Harris was elected a U.S. senator in California in a 23-point landslide over her Republican opponent.
As for the 2028 Democratic presidential primary, Harris has significant early polling leads among hypothetical opponents if she were to run. But her initial advantage could partially be the result of name recognition just four months after her unsuccessful 2024 presidential bid.
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