Twice-failed Democrat presidential candidate Kamala Harris’ name has been periodically popping up in the news since her Election Day drubbing.
First, there were the numerous reports about her myriad campaign spending issues—including pay-to-play questions and desperate post-election fundraising that turned donors off. After that were her visits to the areas in California impacted by the Palisades wildfires.
Heavily sprinkled into all that has been predictable media fawning over her winning the Chairman’s Award at the NAACP Image Awards last month, as well as rampant speculation from Democrats and Republicans alike on whether she’d throw her hat into the ring for a 2026 Golden State gubernatorial run or run for president in 2028 in what would be her third attempt.
As Legal Insurrection previously documented, the former vice president has told those close to her that she was “not going quietly into the night” after losing to Donald Trump in November. What that means specifically is anyone’s guess, but fresh reporting indicates that as time has gone on, she has been “seriously” contemplating a run for governor:
Former Vice President Kamala Harris is seriously considering a run for governor of California — and has given herself a deadline to decide.
At a pre-Oscars party last weekend, Harris was asked by another partygoer when she would make a decision about jumping into the California governor’s race. She gave a definitive answer, according to two people with knowledge of the conversation: the end of the summer.
Further, it was also reported that Harris was “intrigued” in part by the possibility that she could be the first black female governor in United States history:
Harris aides note she has long been intrigued by the idea of being the chief executive of the fifth-largest economy in the world and the first Black woman to be governor in America.
That, of course, would assume an awful lot if true—namely, that Virginia Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears (R) will not win her bid to become governor later this year.
In addition to the possibility of a Kamala Harris gubernatorial campaign, there have been several other politicos who have already either declared their intentions to run or are said to be biding their time to see if Harris does indeed jump into the race, including former Rep. Katie Porter:
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.
The primary is June 2, 2026. The first and second-place vote-getters would face each other that November.
-Stacey Matthews has also written under the pseudonym “Sister Toldjah” and can be reached via Twitter/X.-
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