A new report says many Democrats want former Vice President Kamala Harris to run for California governor instead of potentially running for president again in 2028.
In the tight race for governor of the Golden State, where many candidates are splitting the Democratic vote, the New York Times highlighted how Harris could decisively change that in an article titled “California Dream? Some Democrats Worry Harris Is Picking the Wrong Run.”
“Maybe she should run for governor, they say, rather than openly consider a third run for president,” the Times noted.
California has an open primary system in which all candidates from both parties compete against each other, so it is assumed that two candidates from the same party may face each other in the general election. With Republican votes divided between just two candidates and Democratic votes divided among eight candidates, some Democrats worry about the possibility of a Republican being elected governor.
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(Getty Images)
One example recalled by The Times was “The View” co-host Sunny Hostin, who last month urged Harris to abandon her presidential ambitions in favor of state politics.
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“California, it’s like running a country,” Hostin said. “I know she’s talked about being president — I don’t know if that’s the right thing for her — but gosh, she certainly knows California.”
“Instead, she has been touring the country selling books and recently said she “could” run for president again in 2028,” the Times wrote. “That’s enough to make some party loyalists heartache. A gubernatorial run, they say, would have been a better choice.”
Although Harris was initially welcomed by Democrats as their 2024 nominee after then-President Joe Biden decided to end his re-election bid, some voters were unhappy with her.
Matt Bennett, co-founder of the Democratic think tank Third Way, said Harris is well suited to serve as governor. But in the presidential campaign, she will defend the past “with a real burden.”
“Conceivably, she could craft a message,” he told The Times. “But she still has a lot of explaining to do.”
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Former Vice President Kamala Harris speaks at the 38th Annual Michigan Democratic Women’s Caucus Legacy Luncheon in Detroit, Michigan, April 18, 2026.
“It’s clear that she’s going to dominate this race,” Lara Bergthold, a California political consultant, told The Times. “It feels like an easy win, an easy walk into the governor’s mansion.”
Still, Burgthold said, “I feel like she wants to perform on a national stage.”
Meanwhile, California still has no front-runner for Democratic gubernatorial candidates after former Rep. Eric Swalwell ended his campaign and resigned from Congress amid sexual misconduct allegations. The Times noted that California Democratic Party Chairman Rusty Hicks “has urged candidates to ‘honestly evaluate’ whether they should continue running.”
David Axelrod, a Democratic strategist and former Obama adviser, said the situation was like a “high-stakes NASCAR race where the cars are not going very fast, but the cars are all hurtling into each other on the road before one finally gets to the front.”
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Rep. Eric Swalwell was once one of the more prominent candidates for California’s governorship but has since dropped out of the race amid sexual misconduct allegations.
Fox News Digital reached out to Harris but did not immediately receive a response.
Original source of the article: Democrats want Kamala Harris to run for California governor, not eyeing 2028: report