Why Kamala Harris isn't running for governor
Another faction of Democratic politicians and donors was less enthusiastic, though few voiced their misgivings directly to Harris. Some members of her party spoke of a prolonged hangover from her presidential loss. Even if they did not blame her for losing to Trump in a truncated campaign, they did not want to be reminded of what transpired.
Among Harris' most ardent backers, the mood was decidedly mixed. Some remembered how she had initially eyed the governorship a decade ago, only to run for U.S. Senate instead. Others questioned if she truly was interested in spending time in Sacramento, hundreds of miles from her Los Angeles home, slogging through grueling budget negotiations and contending with state legislators.
Many conveyed they'd be with her either way — but they wanted to be sure it was the best decision Harris could make for herself.
Kamlager-Dove, meeting again with Harris in June as the speculation around the governor's race was hitting its peak, urged the former vice president to make a decision 'that was going to sit right with her heart.'
'As a woman, I know what it's like to feel like someone might be pressuring you to do something that you don't necessarily want to do,' Kamlager-Dove said. 'So I remember being very vocal about making sure that she was leaning into her own agency. She put her hand on her heart and thanked me for saying that and for sharing that, and I could tell that she was taking all of this very seriously.'
Last week, Harris traveled to England to attend the wedding of Eve Jobs, daughter of Steve Jobs and Laurene Powell Jobs, a close friend of Harris'. The Cotswolds event, which included a number of attendees from her long-ago San Francisco days, was a clarifying change of routine that, according to several people close to her, helped solidify her decision. She began to inform her inner circle of her decision when she returned on Sunday.
Among those who got an advance heads-up were Newsom and Lt. Gov. Eleni Kounalakis, a gubernatorial candidate who had planned to leave the race if Harris ran. People who spoke to her prior to the public announcement said she was upbeat and quick to laugh, showing some relief in making her decision.
Her allies say she still sees a national role for herself and is not closing the door on a 2028 presidential run, although that was not a predominant factor in her decision.
'There's a lot of work that has to be done here in California specifically, but there's a lot of work that has to be done in the country,' said Todd Hawkins, a Los Angeles-based bundler who has supported Harris for years. 'And I think she sees her voice as a national voice as well, not limiting that to California.'
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