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Former Vice President Kamala Harris closed one door with her announcement that she wouldn’t run in 2026 for governor of her home state of California.
But her decision to keep her name off the ballot next year left the door open for a possible second presidential bid in 2028.
In her statement explaining her decision, Harris said, “For now, my leadership — and public service — will not be in elected office.”
But Harris, who replaced then-President Joe Biden as the Democratic Party’s 2024 presidential nominee last summer after he dropped out of the race amid mounting questions over his physical and mental stamina, pledged to stay involved in politics.
KAMALA HARRIS RULES OUT 2026 RUN IN HER HOME STATE OF CALIFORNIA
“I look forward to getting back out and listening to the American people, helping elect Democrats across the nation who will fight fearlessly, and sharing more details in the months ahead about my own plans,” she said.
After losing last year’s election to President Donald Trump and then serving out the remainder of her term as vice president, Harris returned to California and kept close counsel with an inner circle of confidants.
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And some in her inner circle, as well as political analysts, suggested that running and winning the election in 2026 for governor of California, the nation’s most populous state and home to the world’s fifth-largest economy, would likely take a 2028 White House run off the table.
But with a gubernatorial run off the table, that’s no longer a concern.
If Harris eventually does launch a 2028 presidential campaign, she would start her ride on the road to the White House as the most recognizable Democrat in what’s expected to be a large field of contenders. And she would also come equipped with a broad fundraising network that she built up last cycle.
“She would certainly be a very serious candidate in the primary in 2028, if she runs,” a Democratic strategist and veteran of multiple White House campaigns told Fox News Digital.
The strategist, who asked to remain anonymous to speak more freely, said that “a lot of Democrats think she was put in a tough spot in 2024 and deserves to have a chance to run a race on her own…she was limited in doing some of the things that politically she might have needed to do to make a cleaner break with Biden.”
But Harris could also potentially be weighed down with plenty of political baggage from the 2024 campaign, when the Democrats lost not only the White House but also their Senate majority, and failed to win back control of the House.
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As the party looks to escape the political wilderness, many Democrats are aiming to make a clear break with the past as they strive for a reset.
“If you’re trying to take a different path for the party, it’s hard to go backwards and pick the person who lost to Trump,” a Democratic consultant told Fox News. “There needs to be a fresh start, a new generation.”
If Harris does run, she’d have to deal with her unwavering support for Biden as his physical and mental abilities appeared to waver in front of Americans.
Republican Rep. James Comer, who as House Oversight chair is investigating the former president’s use of the autopen and mental fitness while in the White House, said in an interview on Fox News’ “The Ingraham Angle” that “the odds of Kamala Harris getting a subpoena are very high.”
While Harris has been spending recent months mulling her decision on a gubernatorial run, other potential 2028 Democratic presidential contenders have already been making early moves as they try to move past the Biden administration and last year’s election setbacks.
Among them are Govs. Gavin Newsom of California, JB Pritzker of Illinois, Josh Shapiro of Pennsylvania, Wes Moore of Maryland, Andy Beshear of Kentucky, Gretchen Whitmer of Michigan, as well as Sen. Cory Booker of New Jersey and former Biden Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg.
While Harris, in her statement, ruled out a run for elective office next year, she pledged to stay in the fight.
Former Democratic National Committee chair Donna Brazile, who’s part of the former vice president’s wider orbit of friends and advisers, noted that “in the modern vice presidency, these individuals don’t go into obscurity; they continue their public life, whether it’s academia, the public sector, public speaking, serving in advisory capacities for corporations or nonprofits, launching their own personal advocacy, writing a memoir or returning to public office.”
“There are so many gaps the former vice president can fill, so many roles she can play, whether it’s as a private citizen or a public official. This is just one of the many decisions she will make over the course of her lifetime,” Brazile told Fox News.
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