The announcement that Kamala Harris will not be seeking reelection as governor of California did not rule out the possibility of her seeking the presidency again. But she aired her grievances with the government’s shortcomings on Thursday, telling Stephen Colbert of the Late Show that she “wants to stay out of the system” for the time being.
Harris is well-liked by many Democrats.
According to interviews conducted with about twenty Democratic leaders and operatives after her statement this week, there is a portion of the party that would prefer that Harris not run for office in 2028. Plus, they’re crossing their fingers that she’ll sit out the midterms.
“If she was gravity for our candidates running in center-right districts in 2024, then she will be gravity for them in 2026,” stated Lauren Harper Pope, co-founder of WelcomePAC, an organization that backs candidates on the left. “No thank you,” she continued, referring to Harris’ promise to run for office on the Democratic ticket.
Joe Biden and his former vice president are burdened with baggage from Harris’ 2024 defeat, which is the basis of the dread. Despite her remarkably low visibility up until this week, Harris is nevertheless a big attraction for fundraisers and a popular figure in the Democratic Party, with a large online following. In 2026, she may play an active role as a surrogate, according to some Democrats. Many Democrats throughout the nation are now worried that she would try to influence the November elections even though they are trying to regain the House.
“Downballot candidates outperformed her in 2024, and she was a drag on them,” said a national Democratic insider who wished to remain anonymous in order to freely discuss Harris. Last year, these candidates succeeded by separating themselves from her and the national party. Given that she won’t be running for office in 2026, why would we even consider doing that?
In a New York state primary, that is already the verdict. According to an anonymous Democratic source connected with the Gillen campaign, who was allowed anonymity to discuss a party leader, Rep. Laura Gillen, a first-year member who won a seat on Long Island, will not be inviting Harris to visit her area next year when she defends her seat. Compared to Gillen, Biden, and Hillary Clinton, who had carried the district by double digits, Harris’s victory margin was 1.3 percentage points.
“We will not be requesting her to serve as a surrogate, and I personally do not believe she would be an ideal surrogate for our team, considering our superior performance,” the operative stated. Residents of Long Island are well-liked by Long Island. Whether they win or lose, dealing with national leaders is difficult.
He preferred that Harris “go away” since people associate her with Biden, according to a Democratic consultant in Southern California who was also given anonymity to talk freely. If Democrats want to seize the House of Representatives, the greater Los Angeles area—like metro New York—could play a pivotal role.
“I am not in favor of her being a part of my district,” added the strategist.
While the race for 2028 is still in its early stages, public polls consistently rank Harris as one of the leading contenders. She had 26% of the vote in a July national survey by Echelon Insights, fifteen percentage points more than the next closest Democrat, Pete Buttigieg. Having scored 32% in May, that lead was a loss from her previous high.
According to those close to Harris, she is not using her choice not to run for governor as an excuse to consider a presidential run, even if she is keeping her options open.
One trusted associate of Harris’s, who wished to remain anonymous in order to talk freely, stated, “I don’t think she’s gotten her head around that yet” in reference to the prospect of a third run for the presidency.
There was no overt “Draft Harris” effort that would have shown popular support for Harris, despite the fact that she was the clear favorite to be governor. A few of Harris’s supporters were skeptical of her enthusiasm for running on a statewide ticket. Even more muted was the reception of a possible 2028 run during a recent Democratic Party gathering in early-voting South Carolina.
Harris dismissed the comedian’s implication that she was abandoning her bid for a state seat in favor of a national one during her appearance on Colbert’s show. An audible gasp from the audience when Harris spoke to Colbert about the American political system, sounding quite pessimistic. “I think it’s broken,” she said.
Harris expressed her desire to discover a new form of engagement after more than twenty years of public service, during which she rose through the ranks from San Francisco district attorney to California attorney general to senator and, finally, to vice president and Democratic presidential nominee. She hoped to do it in a way that would still keep her profile with regular people.
“I want to travel the country,” she told Colbert. People should talk to me. I long for human interaction. I also hope it isn’t just a formality where I’m requesting their approval.
Although Harris is now preoccupied with a book tour and a possible nonprofit endeavor, she has previously stated that she is not completely disengaging from civic life, despite her “harrowing” and pessimistic assessment of the country’s current situation.
Those of us who can be out there talking to people and reminding them of their power are able to do so at this moment because “people have become so deflated, despondent, and afraid.” This is something she stated, even though she is not currently running for office.
A representative from Harris did not want to be interviewed for this piece.
Many major Democratic officials continue to lavish Harris with praise and have hailed her as a crucial asset for midterm contenders, despite widespread doubt about her viability in 2028.
Her former campaign mate, Minnesota Governor Tim Walz, told HEADLINESFOREVER, “I would welcome it,” when asked whether he wanted her to run in 2028. She was an excellent prospect, in my opinion. Her presidential candidacy is really commendable. This is her thought process, and I recognized it. I could see she really values her community. If that’s her choice, then you already know how I feel.
Harris was praised by Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker, who is being regarded as a possible presidential contender, as a “terrific spokesperson” with a storied career who can assist Democrats in addressing the economic issues of working people. Pritzker made the remarks after a bill-signing ceremony this week.
For the sake of overcoming the challenges that lie ahead and winning the 2026 elections, “truly, those of us who believe that we need change in this country right now, need all the help that we can get,” Pritzker told reporters. “Therefore, I am inviting her to that conflict.”
According to Darry Sragow, a seasoned campaign attorney and strategist based in Los Angeles, Harris’ choice to step back and assess the national political scene objectively may, in the future, make her a more attractive candidate.
“I must say, she deserves a lot of praise for getting off the treadmill or train,” he remarked. “It could end up making her a considerably more formidable contender.”
Even if early polls is showing that she has a good chance of winning in 2028, many Democratic strategists, including the former vice president’s supporters, are still uncertain. As evidence, they pointed to Biden’s apparent deterioration throughout his presidency and the unanswered concerns regarding the timing of Harris’s potential awareness of the matter.
New Hampshire Democratic operative Jay Surdukowski predicted that “the now undisputed Biden decline, his reckless decision to seek reelection, and what she knew and when she knew it” will cast a shadow over any future Harris campaign.
The former senior advisor to Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders and current consultant in Washington, Mark Longabaugh, stated, “We’re coming off a massive, stinging defeat… The burdens they will bear from the Biden administration are so great that I don’t see how she manages it.
“I don’t think she can win the Democratic primary, so therefore, if I was advising her, I would say, ‘Don’t run in 2028.'” A more direct statement came from a former top Harris aide. According to the ex-staffer, the party’s stance is that “there are better nominees out there who allow us to turn the page.”