Crushing poll deals massive blow for Gavin Newsom and Kamala Harris’ presidential ambitions

Kamala Harris and Gavin Newsom are both drawing low levels of enthusiasm for potential 2028 presidential bids, with the California governor holding a lead over Harris among the state’s Democratic voters.

The September survey, conducted by the UC Berkeley Citrin Center and POLITICO, found that 37% of registered California voters said they would be excited about a Newsom presidential run, compared with 28% who said the same about Harris.

The figures mark a substantial decline from the February-March survey, when 48% of registered voters said they were excited about a Newsom bid and 41% were excited about Harris entering the race.

The poll comes as Newsom vowed not to run against Harris, telling CNN he would not challenge the former vice president.

“I don’t know if she runs but we’ll see,” Newsom said in Montana. “But I wouldn’t run if she ran.”

The term-limited governor, who is also under a DOJ investigation along with his wife, is publicly weighing a run for the White House in 2028.

Newsom has been a frontrunner alongside Harris, so much so that he is dominating among Democratic voters.

Some 61% said they would be excited about Newsom running for president, compared with 39% who said they would not.

Harris’ numbers were reversed: 55% of Democratic and Democratic-leaning voters said they would not be excited about another presidential bid from the former vice president.

“There’s no question that Democrats see Newsom as the stronger general election prospect, even if neither he nor Harris is generating much excitement, and that shines through,” said founder of polling company TrueDot Jon Cohen told Politico.

If Harris were to run in 2028, it would be her third attempt to win the White House.

In 2020, Harris launched a campaign for the Democratic presidential nomination. She dropped out in December 2019, before the primaries began. Biden later selected her as his running mate.

In 2024, she became the Democratic nominee after Biden ended his reelection bid. She lost the election to Donald Trump

The survey also found a sizable gap in how Democrats view the two Californians’ prospects for 2028.

Forty-nine percent of Democrats said Newsom has the better chance of securing the Democratic nomination, compared with just 10% who selected Harris.

The difference was even larger when respondents were asked about the general election.

Fifty-nine percent of Democrats said Newsom was more likely to win a general election, while just 9% chose Harris.

Harris, 61, and Newsom 58, came up in San Francisco politics at the same time, building careers that often ran in parallel. In 2004, Harris became San Francisco district attorney while Newsom became mayor.

Harris later became California attorney general and then a U.S. senator before vice president, while Newsom became lieutenant governor and later governor.

Outside the Democratic base, enthusiasm was considerably lower for both potential candidates.

About 85% of independent voters said they were not excited about either Newsom or Harris running in 2028, according to the figures from the September survey.

Among Republicans, roughly 93% said they were not excited about either candidate.

The Post has reached out to both Harris and Newsom camp for comment.

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