Kamala Harris reportedly considering run for California governor
The former US vice-president has been weighing up a gubernatorial campaign in her home state as one option for remaining in the political arena since her presidential election defeat to Donald Trump last November.
Now allies have told Politico that she is close to throwing her hat in the ring after she turned up at a pre-Oscar parties last weekend in Los Angeles at which she reportedly rubbed shoulders with wealthy Democratic power brokers.
The party's nomination for the governor's candidacy in 2026 is up for grabs because term limits prevent the current incumbent, Gavin Newsom, from running again.
Harris has retained her tightly knit team of advisers since leaving the vice-presidency in January and attended a series of political events, repeatedly telling people: 'I am staying in this fight,' according to Politico.
Her name recognition in a state that has leaned Democrat in recent decades is likely to give her a head start and will probably drive other internal party candidates from the field, commentators say.
A recent poll conducted for Emerson College Polling, Inside California Politics and the Hill showed 57% of voters prepared to vote for Harris as governor.
'If [former] Vice-president Harris enters the Democratic primary, she would start as the clear favorite. Without Harris in the race, the primary is wide open,' Spencer Kimball, executive director of Emerson College Polling, told Newsweek.
A decision to run for governor is likely to preclude the possibility of Harris embarking on a second presidential campaign in 2028, although she is said to be keeping that option open. Her aides have already assessed that the Democratic primary contest will be highly competitive, and may include Newsom, the current California governor.
Harris, a former California attorney general, has already drawn support from the current holder of that post, Rob Bonta, who had previously been touted as a potential governor's candidate.
'Her name recognition, her favorables, her ability to run a successful campaign would have the impact of clearing the field on the Democratic side,' Bonta told Politico. 'If anyone wants to stay in, will I tell them: 'You should leave because she's clearing the field?' Absolutely not. They can run. I think they'll lose, and I will support her.'
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