It seems Kamala Harris isn’t ready to pack up and head into political obscurity. Fresh off her stinging defeat to President-elect Donald Trump, Harris’s allies are reportedly brainstorming her next political move.
As we’ve reported before, there are rumors that Kamala might run for governor of California, and polls suggest she’d be the favored candidate if she does. However, according to reports, her inner circle is divided on whether she should set her sights on running for governor or stick to her long-standing dream of becoming president.
After her dismal 2024 campaign, one might assume her presidential aspirations would be on ice — but not so fast. Her advisers apparently think she “deserves another shot,” which might be news to Democratic voters who didn’t exactly clamor for her during her first run. CNN’s Edward-Isaac Dovere recently pointed out that Harris is making her plans known.
“What she's been saying to people over the last couple of weeks, donors, other supporters that she's been talking with is you haven't seen the last of me. I'm not going quietly into the night,” which is political-speak for refusing to take a hint.
“They do not want her final official act ever to be essentially certifying Donald Trump's win over her, especially four years after January 6,” he continued. “And so they look at this governor's race in California in 2026, and it seems to them like a layup, essentially, that she would probably clear the field or mostly clear the field, and she would get to be governor of California, which is a pretty good job, right? It was good enough for Ronald Reagan and Arnold Schwarzenegger and Jerry Brown.”
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However, running for governor, even if she is a shoo-in, poses a huge complication because, based on the timing and the way presidential campaigns are run now, she’d almost immediately have to declare her candidacy for the presidency after becoming governor.
“And that is what it really comes down to because there are people close to her who say she didn't get a fair shot … this year," Dovere said. "It wasn't — it wasn't up to what she could have done. And look how well she performed. Anyway, she should get to go again in 2028.”
Of course, running for president in 2028 would pose its own challenges. Unlike what happened this year, she’d have to compete against other Democrats. As the sitting vice president, it was easy for her to have a clear field after Joe Biden dropped out. But there have been quite a few Democrats waiting in the wings for their opportunity to run, including Gov. Gavin Newsom (D-Calif.), who is expected to run in 2028. After running a terrible presidential campaign in 2020 and then spending over a billion dollars in a few months to lose all the swing states in 2024, it would be really difficult for Kamala to make the case that the party should bet on her again, and a defeat in a primary would be yet another insulting end to her political career.
HAHAHAHAHA. Holy shlit. Kamala Harris is gearing up to run for president in 2028.pic.twitter.com/2yB9bn92xK
— End Wokeness (@EndWokeness) December 15, 2024
What is Kamala going to do? Well, at the DNC Holiday Party over the weekend, she delivered remarks dripping with optimism and resilience, framing her loss as a stepping stone rather than a rejection. And she has reason to believe that she’s well-positioned to be the Democratic Party nominee because current polling suggests that she’s favored.
For Republicans, Harris’s political persistence might actually be a gift. Her unpopularity and track record of electoral losses make her a convenient target. If she insists on remaining a prominent figure in Democratic politics, it could energize the GOP base while reminding swing voters why they rejected her in the first place.
