Harris is giving herself until late summer to make up her mind about gubernatorial bid
Democrats in Kamala Harris’s home state of California have expressed frustration that the failed presidential candidate may be using the Golden State as a fallback plan—or a stepping stone toward another White House bid.
“We haven’t really heard from her on California issues since Trump’s inauguration,” state party delegate Madison Zimmerman told Politico, stressing that “California isn’t a consolation prize.” Zimmerman is one of several Democrats at the California Democratic Party convention last weekend who, according to Politico, “openly fretted that California was simply a fallback option for Harris” following her election defeat to President Donald Trump.
Other Democrats at the convention worry that Harris—who has long floated a run to replace term-limited Gov. Gavin Newsom (D.) in 2026—appears more focused on staging a second presidential bid in 2028 than leading California.
“My concern about Harris is that she would be using the position, if she won, as a placeholder for a second run at the presidency,” said Carol Weiss, a delegate from Sunnyvale. “And that would make me feel like I’m wasting my vote. I want a strong governor for at least four years.”
The frustration comes as the Democratic Party has yet to rally behind a national leader and lacks a frontrunner for the 2028 primary. In the months since Harris’s crushing loss to Trump, Democrats have struggled to rebuild their image, with polls showing that the party’s favorability has plunged to record lows.
Harris’s refusal to confirm her gubernatorial bid has cast uncertainty on California’s crowded primary field, annoying many in her party. Several Democrats, including former congresswoman Katie Porter, have said they would step aside if Harris enters the race.
“You see the other candidates—they’re here, they’re talking, they’re doing their thing,” David Campos, vice chair of the state party, told Politico. “And I think that people are receptive to that because they realize that you really need someone who can jump in and is really interested in doing this.”
Harris, who has said she will make a decision by late summer, skipped the convention entirely and instead sent in a brief video, which drew muted applause from the audience, according to Politico.
Democrats also gathered for a statewide convention in South Carolina. Harris’s name barely came up.
“In South Carolina, influential Democrats this weekend were hardly talking about Kamala Harris anymore,” Politico reported, adding that “party members on opposite coasts … did not express much clamor for either iteration of a Harris candidacy.”